People remember Raj Rani’s hard work for public welfare
Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 10: Countering numerous problems daily, people of Ward number 45 of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) are practically feeling the absence of their elected Councillor, Raj Rani, who passed away about one and half year back.
Raj Rani politically belonged to BJP and she was a first time Councillor. She worked hard for the welfare of her Ward and ensured developments of all sort there till she remained alive.
Areas of the Ward include Rani Talab, Digiana Pully, area near CRPF camp, Preet Nagar etc.
Residents of the Ward expressed resentment that after the death of their Councillor none bothered to take care of the developmental needs of the Ward.
A BJP leader, Vinod Sharma, who is taking care of issues of the Ward informed that problems of poor lanes and drains and water shortage in summers are prominent in the Ward.
He also said that a tube-well in the Ward has a motor of less capacity which when gets burnt triggers water crisis forcing people of the Ward to come out on roads to protest.
Sharma informed that there are 31 Safai Karamcharis in the Ward but there is a need of 6-7 more.
Some locals of the Ward claimed that Late Raj Rani helped them in many ways.
Other Ward residents said, most of the eligible Voters in the Ward have got their Voter Cards, Ayushman Cards and Domicile Certificates.
Though late Raj Rani helped many widows, physically challenged and old age persons of her Ward in getting pensions but many of these people today are feeling disappointment over the newly introduced rule for these pensions exclusively to Below Poverty Line people as the rule is creating problems for many other deserving persons.
There were reports that many drug addicts and peddlers are active in Ward number 45 and the locals there have demanded that the police should take a strict note of this.
The elders in the Ward claimed that they are facing a lot of problems due to stray dogs as 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.
Some prominent residents of the Ward said that there is one Public Park in the area with defunct lights which have not been repaired despite repeated complaints to the concerned department.
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 visit of the Ward showed that there is no Community Hall and the old unused poles there were not removed.
Also there was no parking place for vehicles, no playground for children and there was no blacktopping of interior roads while construction and repair work of lanes and drains was only 50 per cent complete there.
Locals of the Ward expressed satisfaction over the auto service in the Ward for garbage collection from door-to-door.
They informed that houses in the Ward lack numbering.
Pawan Singh, Councillor of Ward number 23 who belongs to BJP informed: “After the death of Raj Rani none paid attention to her Ward.”
He said that as Ward 45 is very much near to his Ward, yet the BJP has not given him the responsibility for taking care of that Ward but still not less than 80 per cent people from that Ward mostly visit him to get their works done.
“I always give priority to solve the problems of these people and their problems mostly remained that of poor water supply,” Singh maintained.
He informed that some issues of the Ward which residents of that place mostly raise with him were demand of replacement of old water supply pipes, bad condition of lanes-drains and non-functional Street Light.
Many people expressed resentment against the authorities concerned for not holding by-elections to get some new Councillor elected from the Ward to take care of developmental works there.
However, the Deputy Mayor Baldev Singh Bilawaria claimed that JMC is taking proper care of the Wards where the Councillors have passed away.
In an interview, JMC Mayor, Rajinder Sharma stated that in Wards where the Councillors have died, JMC is deputing officers to check developmental works there.
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