STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: At a time when the State government is investing a huge amount of money to clear drains in the city to avoid flash floods, a recent notification from the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) permitting a Durga Puja office covering a major public drain in Chandmari Krishna Nagar has evoked widespread resentment among a large section of residents in the area.
In a public memorandum, locals in the area have urged the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushik Rai, to intervene immediately to remove the camp at the earliest and take stringent action against the officers concerned.
The GMC Engineering Division II, Uzanbazar, Guwahati, in a letter (vide No. GER/Div-II/Misc/52/14//Pt-II/25; dated 19/09/2026), accorded permission for the erection of a puja office, as per the direction of the Mayor, subject to certain terms and conditions. The first condition states, "The temporary office shall not obstruct any road, footpath, drain, or public movement."
However, in reality, the first condition of the letter has been violated, as the camp has been erected covering a major public drain.
Ironically, the GMC Mayor is the chief patron of that puja committee.
A public memorandum signed by 59 local residents of the area questioned the "irresponsible" behaviour of the Mayor. "Under which section of the GMC Act, 1971, can such things be permitted?" the memorandum said.
"Soon after the erection of the pandal, the Assam Police took cognisance of the matter and moved to dismantle the structure. Accordingly, the organisers had to remove the cloth around the pandal but did not dismantle the structure," the memorandum said, adding, "This camp is almost a kilometre away from their puja venue, where they have already erected their separate puja office. So, what is the need for a separate office creating public nuisance?"
Last year, the same puja committee also did the same thing and erected a puja pandal and office covering a public road, drain, etc., which were later dismantled by the administration.
"In such circumstances, why has the responsible elected civic representative, like the Mayor, taken such an irresponsible initiative, for reasons best known to him? The officer concerned who ignored the violations of the terms and conditions after granting the permission should be punished," the locals in the area said.
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