Jagraon: As civic body polls in Jagraon are slated for February 14, ‘mismanagement’ remains a major issue in the coming municipal council elections. This, they say, is the root of all problems like potholes on roads, water-logging and poor hygiene in the town.
“One of the main examples of mismanagement in the town is that we have a municipal park which has two garbage dumps in its vicinity. So, if you have an infrastructure which was constructed by spending crores of rupees and has such garbage dumps near it, does it not speak of mismanagement of the MC. It also affects the religious sentiments of people,” said Harwinder Singh, secretary of the committee of a gurdwara, which is near the municipal park and has a garbage dump close it.
“Also, the other major problem is the water-logging in the town, including Kamal chowk, where I run a shop and where water gets accumulated during the rains. This problem is not confined to Kamal chowk, but water-logging is common across the town, including in front of MC office and even Purani Anaj Mandi gets submerged in water. The reason for this is that there were eight points in and around Jagraon from where rainwater would flow out, but those have been encroached upon because of which water gets accumulated in the town.”
The residents said that mismanagement had also resulted in potholes on various roads.
“Potholes on roads and garbage dumps in the city are going to be main issues in the coming civic body elections. There is a garbage dump even near Lala Lajpat Rai Park. I think the dumps need to be shifted out of the town but then those collecting garbage have hand-driven carriers and need motorised vehicles for the purpose. Also, pot holes on the roads is another problem which is a cause of suffering for the people,” said Nanesh Gandhi, a city resident who runs ‘Kar Bhala, Ho Bhala’ group.
Another resident said that lack of hygiene was a problem in the city.
“The level of cleanliness in the town is not up to the mark. The problem gets worse during the monsoon when the lack of proper hygiene in the town becomes a risk for the health of residents as there is a threat of disease break out due to mosquitoes and other related issues,” said another resident asking not to be named.
A social-cum-political activist, who has been critical of the ‘mismanagement’ and ‘corruption’ in the MC, says that he had to approach the Punjab and Haryana high court to highlight such issues.
“Tenders for development works totalling Rs10 crore were floated by the government and of Rs 3 crore were given to a party which was already black-listed. To probe where the funds have gone, I approached the municipal council authorities, vigilance bureau and even the chief minister’s office, but there was no response, so I approached the high court. Last week, a team of vigilance bureau had come to Jagraon and seized the record of the MC and collected the samples of road,” said Gopi Sharma, a social activist who is member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He alleged that inadequate material and bad quality stuff was used in the laying of interlocking tiles.
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SDM denies allegations
Reacting to the allegations against the civic body, SDM Jagraon Narinder Singh indicated that there is no mismanagement in MC and every voter was linked to a political party so they make such allegations. He added that development was happening in Jagraon and once the model code of conduct is over, more works including that of roads will be taken up.
Asked about the sewerage problem, SDM said that water gets accumulated even in Mumbai.