People claim Councillor worked selectively, non-seriously
Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 11: The residents of Gandhi Nagar from Ward number 21 of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) have claimed that the basic functioning of the Urban Local Body like ensuring cleanliness, sanitisation, clean drinking water etc are absent in their Ward.
The Ward is represented by Bhanu Mahajan who politically belongs to Congress and is a first time Councillor.
During a walk through the Ward one can easily note garbage dumps at many places like near Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Bawa Lal Ji Temple etc.
When asked why the garbage dump has not been removed, Pappu, 50, working at an office made in a shop near Government Quarters in the Ward said that there is no fixed time for the concerned authorities to lift the garbage as sometimes it is even not lifted for 12-15 days.
Another shopkeeper there informed that during rains the drain near their shops gets blocked and water-logging is formed on the road after which the water enters their shops and causes damage.
The locals there informed that the gushing water from drains during rainfall also enters ground floor of the government quarters thereby inflicting damage.
Bhushan Verma, another local of the Ward living in Block-A behind Laxmi Narayan Mandir, said that his locality gets dirty water in PHE supply.
He also raised the problem of hanging wires in the area which create problems whenever some truck passes through the lanes as it damages the hanging wires.
It is pertinent to mention here that though more than four years of the mandatory tenure of five for the elected body of JMC have passed, many developmental works have not been completed yet while many of such works have even not seen the light of the day.
A Park near Laxmi Narayan Mandir in the Ward was in very bad condition and a local there informed that most of the lights in the Park are not functional for the last some months.
Meenakshi, 42, a housewife living near a religious place in the Ward informed that stray dogs are very much there in the Ward and their number is increasing with each passing day.
She said that these canines not only litter here and there but also bite people and chase two wheelers and have created a wave of terror among women, children and old age people.
Other Ward residents informed that iron gratings have been placed on drains to cover these and the same has been done in biased manner and few of these gratings have also been stolen.
Abhinandan, another resident of Block A in the Ward informed that there are many drug addicts and peddlers active in the Ward for which the police should take cognizance.
People of the Ward expressed dismay and said: “The Councillor never helped any widow, physically challenged or old age persons from her Ward to get pension due to which these people faced a lot of problems.”
They further said that as the newly introduced rule for these pensions exclusively to Below Poverty Line people now is creating problems for others, the Councillor has not raised her voice for such poor deserving people of the Ward.
Others informed that they made their Aadhar, Ayushman and Voter Cards and Domicile Certificates by either visiting offices of the concerned authorities or by applying online on their own.
Baljeet Sharma, who lives in lane opposite to a popular cinema hall in Gandhi Nagar area of Ward 21 said: “As it remains the responsibility of an elected Councillor to visit the Ward and listen to public problems and then take them to the concerned departments for solution, the same responsibility was not seen in their Ward.”
Another local of the Ward said that many residential houses have covered drains near their houses and placed pots with plants there and few have even placed iron structures like gratings for plantations while shopkeepers have also extended platforms near their shops and none checked them.
An elder from the Ward claimed that many Street Lights in the Ward are not functioning.
Manik Gupta, 34, near Bawa Lal Mandir claimed that drains in his locality are rarely cleaned while Jhulas in a Park there got damaged within few days after these were placed there.
Repeated calls to the Councillor Bhanu Mahajan since last month yielded no results as she rarely picked phone only to explain that she was very busy.
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