From a Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Jan 7: ‘Cleanliness is Godliness’ is an oft-repeated statement. A place, if kept clean and hygienic, can pull people from far and wide. On the other hand, the best of efforts to promote a town would go away if it is not kept in a state of freshness and brightness. In this background, The Sentinel reached out to the chairperson of the Dibrugarh Municipal Board (DMB), Shouma Chakraborty, to learn about the recent development of the body, and also to register her responses to a few long-standing grievances of the public. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Q: There have been accusations of the body being negligent towards the draige system. Although we have seen some cleaning work in the Kanoi College Road, will it be possible to clean all the other roadside drains at one go before the rainy season? Moreover, the water in the drain on the way to AMC is running almost parallel with the road. Don’t you think this condition, if not corrected soon, will snowball in the approaching rainy season?
Shouma Chakraborty: We are quite resolved to clean all the roadside drains of the town before the monsool showers. We have started with the one in the Kanoi College Road as the area suffers from acute water-logging due to the presence of railway drains. Despite facing shortage of manpower, we have hired 10 additiol labourers for this purpose. We will distribute these labourers among all the wards by allocating around five labourers to each one of them. The ward commissioners can then have the respective drains cleaned.
Q: The cleaning of the DTP drain was slated to be complete by last year. Although we saw some work happening in the Paltan Bazar area, not much of a progress has been made in this regard. What is the present status? Also, don’t you think that the initial plan of covering the drain was a better idea than to leave it uncovered?
Shouma Chakraborty: We are making progress, but I agree that the progress has been slow. Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, has been entrusted with the responsibility to complete the process, and he can advise us better regarding the project. Yes, we also believe that the drains are better off if covered, for people tend to throw all kinds of garbage into the drain when they are left uncovered. We are facing exactly the same problem while cleaning the secondment drains which are laden with waste materials. But, even if we cover the drains with slabs or blocks, they need to be cleaned regularly.
Q: There have also been accusations that some municipal officers charge fee from roadside vendors for allowing them to illegally set up their shops on the streets? How true is that?
Shouma Chakraborty: I don’t think it is true. But, if something of this kind is going on, and if any evidence can be provided in its support, I will take departmental action against the guilty.
Q: As per our knowledge, the Gauhati High Court had banned the practice of parking charges. Even our Chief Minister promised to put an end to this after coming to power. Yet, we see some people charging the same from the public. When asked, they say the areas have been allotted to them by the Municipality. How true is that? Is it not a violation?
Shouma Chakraborty: No, it’s not. The High Court has banned the practice in some selected areas like truck stands and Convoy Road, but not all. The court has earmarked certain areas for this purpose, and we give out contracts to third parties to charge parking fee only for such areas. Also, the public should always ask for receipts when being charged. The bofide ones have the me of Dibrugarh Municipality written on them.
Q: It’s nice to know about the initiative being taken for setting up the Waste Disposal Project at Lekai. However, we recently heard of some stiff opposition from some local groups against the project. What is the current status?
Shouma Chakraborty: Yes, the locals protested as they were uware about the concept behind segregated waste. They had apprehensions that Lekai would be turned into another dumping ground like Maijan. But, after holding several rounds of meetings and discussions with them, they have agreed to the project. Moreover, we have also received approvals from Pollution Control Board and tiol Green Tribul to carry out the project. And, we expect to complete it in the next two years.
Q: Are sufficient funds coming from the government? If not, are any projects getting delayed or halted due to insufficient funds?
Shouma Chakraborty: Earlier, we did have some paucity of funds. But, now things are changing. We have been allotted funds under both the 13th and 14th Fince Commissions. We were asked to submit the details of the various draige works that we intend to utilize the funds for. We have successfully submitted all those, and are expecting to receive the funds soon.
Q: There also have been accusations that there is a lack of coordition within the board. Also, allegations of some areas being preferred over the others are heard. Is it true? Does the hygiene or cleanliness of a ward depend on the kind of persol rapport it shares with the chairperson?
Shouma Chakraborty: These are baseless allegations. Whenever any fund comes, I call for a meeting of all the ward commissioners and distribute the amount equally. Yes, at times, it might so happen that some demands of a particular ward are not met due to fincial constraints. Other than that, I don’t follow a policy of discrimition at all. All are equal in my eyes.
Q: The residents of the town say that the department hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. How do you respond to that?
Shouma Chakraborty: We are trying our level best to keep Dibrugarh clean. But, unless and until we witness public participation to this effect, we will fail to achieve the ultimate objective. I urge all the residents to help us on this front.
Q: Like you said, the Municipal Board, at present, is facing a crisis of fourth grade employees. How do you plan to solve this?
Shouma Chakraborty: We have called for a meeting with the labour union next week. If the problem persists, strict action will be taken.
Q: How important do you think it is to connect with the youth? Do you think that reaching out to the young blood through social media can prove effective?
Shouma Chakraborty: It can prove immensely effective. In fact, I keep sharing necessary updates on my Facebook page for the awareness and benefit of the public. It is very essential to be on the same page with the youth.
Q: Lastly, what’s your roadmap for the year 2018?
Shouma Chakraborty: We are considering initiating some innovative campaigns. We will make them public at the right time.