Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, Dec 5: The residents of Ward number 30 of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) continue to face a lot of problems related to civic and other such amenities and the elected Urban Local Body (ULB) has failed to do what was expected from it in this regard even after completing its more than four years of mandatory tenure of five in office.
Sonika Sharma, elected Councillor of the Ward informed that road blacktopping work is only 50 per cent complete in the Ward and for the remaining tenders have been floated but none of the contractors comes forward to fill the same due to certain conditions laid in the tenders.
In an exclusive interaction with the Excelsior, Sonika, who politically belongs to Congress and is a first time Councillor informed that her Ward includes the areas of Kailash Nagar, Patel Nagar, Suraj Nagar, entire belt from Canal head to Talab Tillo Chowk and beyond lane number-1 near Nallah and the area from Lane number 1 to 16 of Talab Tillo.
She said that her Ward faces the problems due to stray dogs and these canines not only litter everywhere but also bite people walking on the road, chase two wheelers and have terrorized the women, children and elders in the area.
The Councillor also said that hanging wires and damaged poles are there at many places in the Ward and at some places these poles are even tied with the trees and the department concerned has displayed utter carelessness in this regard by not taking any corrective measure in this regard so far.
She claimed that sewerage work in the Ward has been completed in a sub-standard manner as pipes of the sewerage gets frequently blocked at many places and litter comes out from the manholes and spreads on the roads and streets leaving problems for the passersby and the locals.
Sonika said that there are 35 Safai Karamcharis in the Ward but there is a requirement of 50 to have cleanliness of satisfactory level in the area.
“Autos moving from door-to-door collecting garbage are doing a good job but as there are only two such autos and the Ward is a vast one, two more such autos are required here,” she maintained adding: “Even after the garbage collecting autos were pressed into service, garbage dumps are still there in the Ward and I appeal to the people to stop throwing garbage here and there and use services of these autos.”
The Councillor said that construction and repair work of lanes and drains in the Ward has not been completely done but still it is 70 per cent over while the Ward has got 90 per cent of Street Lights of which the non-functional ones are being repaired in routine.
“There is a park near Talab Tillo Police Station and it is a well maintained park with Open Air Gym, fountain, tiled path, lights etc but there is no playground and no parking place for vehicles in the Ward and there are two Community Halls at Rajput Sabha and at Mahajan Sabha and both these halls have all the required facilities,” she said.
Sonika also said that the Ward faces water crisis for some time in summer days.
“Though many widows, old age persons and physically challenged persons from my Ward are getting pensions but the newly introduced rule of these pensions exclusively to Below Poverty Line people is creating problems for many other deserving people,” she continued.
The JMC Councillor also said that Smart Meters have been installed in the Ward but there is resentment among the people for this as these meters fetch hefty bills.
She said that almost all the residents of her Ward have got their Ayushman Cards and all the eligible Voters have made their Voter Cards and Domicile Certificates.
However, the locals of the Ward informed that there are many drug addicts and peddlers active in the Ward for which the police should take a cognizance.
They also claimed that cases of thefts involving iron gratings from the drains have also been reported from the Ward.
More locals of the Ward complained about lack of civic amenities in the Ward for the last 8 years despite repeatedly bringing the issues into to the notice of JMC authorities.
“Lanes and drains of Patel Nagar Lane-1 were partially renovated with blacktopping after 15 years and the drainage system there is yet to be developed and drains covered,” they said.
The local residents also said that drainage up-to the main Talab Tillo is faulty and during rains the water enters houses increasing miseries and also creating health issues as well as facilitating breeding of mosquitoes due to which many residents of the area fell prey to Dengue few days back.
They further claimed that litter from underground sewerage overflows in rainy season and enter houses at Patel Nagar Lane-1 causing damage and demanded reconstruction of the main drainage on Talab Tillo Road from Gurudwara to Vikas Lane.
They also said that the drain from the area opposite of NITCO Lane to UNO Lane is in worst condition and often gets clogged while the drainage below shops opposite UNO Lane mostly remains blocked which does not allow even the rain water to flow and causes flood.
“The new poles that are being placed elsewhere in the city under Smart City project should replace the 58 years old poles of the area,” they said adding that there is power outage in the area especially in summers and winters.
“Water supplied in some areas of the Ward has heavy deposits of Chlorine which clogs the water systems at homes,” more locals of the area claimed.
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