‘BJP did bhoomipuja of same road thrice’

Nagpur: District guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s Jansamwad campaign took an ugly turn on Monday when a meeting with people was convened at Dharampeth zone office. Three Congress corporators Darshani Dhawad, Harish Gwanbanshi and Kamlesh Chowdhari accused ruling BJP of misleading citizens of West Nagpur.
The three Congress corporators alleged that since 2014, BJP leaders including West Nagpur MLA Sudhakar Deshmukh had thrice performed bhoomipuja of a 1400m stretch connecting Dabha to Khadgaon. The Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) was supposed to construct the road as it comes under its jurisdiction.

The MLA from West Nagpur had performed the bhoomipuja in 2010 just after the assembly polls and announced that the road work would start. The cost of works was around Rs1.5 crore. “Nothing happened after that and again in 2014 just before the assembly polls, Deshmukh performed bhoomipuja of the same road. Now in November last year, bhoomipuja was performed for the third time,” Dhawad claimed during Bawankule’s Jansamwad.

“Does BJP really want development?” Dhawad asked. The fact is that the ruling party is just misleading the common citizens, the trio alleged.

Dhawad, who stays in Dabha, told TOI that the road would benefit at least 50,000 residents who are staying in 49 layouts and 14 housing societies. Deshmukh admitted the delay and clarified that earlier it was supposed to be tarred but later the decision was changed to concretize the road. “The budget for the work too was revised from Rs1.5 crore to Rs7 crore,” the West Nagpur MLA explained. Following instructions from Bawankule, Deshmukh assured that the work will start within a week.

Gwalbanshi also raised the issue of the NMC spending money from its kitty for holding guardian minister’s Janswamwad with no mention of the civic body in the hoardings placed at the venue. Bawankule assured to reimburse the expenditure for his Janswamwads from the state government.

As many as 150 complaints pertaining to illegal constructions, choked sewer lines, non-functioning street lights were resolved in the public meeting attended by mayor Nanda Jichkar, other senior corporators and zone’s assistant commissioner Mahesh Morone.