Priorities for Guwahati

Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “Action expresses priorities.” What citizens of Guwahati, the capital of Assam is currently witnessing is a series of action by the government which include construction of huge concrete barriers in the name of dividers on GS Road, replacing the recently-built dividers on the Panjabari Road, replacing and raising the divider of VIP Road, renovating two fountains inside the Janata Bhavan complex and so on – all in the name of beautification of Guwahati. The beautification work appears to have been carried out with such urgency and on a war-footing that the citizens and tax-payers are compelled to think that it was the topmost priority that the city requires. The reality is that clearing of drain congestions, construction and completion of pavements, footpaths and drain-covers, widening of roads, marking proper pedestrian crossings and ensuring that the elderly and children can safely cross roads, providing streetlights, clearing garbage, are the tasks that require urgent attention and topmost priority. The tragedy is that the city has four legislators and one Lok Sabha member, and the citizens have hardly seen them taking serious interest in solving the basic issues concerning the Gateway to the Northeast. Moreover, the term of the elected body of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation has long expired, with the state government still not considering seriously the matter of holding election to the largest civic body of the region. This is a serious lapse. The impression of Guwahati to the visitor from outside the state, region and the country is definitely very important. The image that the visitors and tourists will carry back home about Guwahati will definitely determine how many more visitors/tourists the city will get as a multiplying effect. Word of mouth is very important in attracting tourists and visitors to a place. But then, simply carrying out beautification of one or two major thoroughfares and ignoring the basic needs of citizens in the rest of the city is not justified by any economics or political consideration. The recently announced results of Swachh Survekshan 2019, conducted by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, have already officially confirmed the status of cleanliness of Guwahati. The Assam capital has figured at Spot 303 in a list of 425 cities and towns of the country, which, when counted from the reverse projects Guwahati not among the cleanest cities, but among the dirtiest. The Swachh Survekshan survey was definitely not carried out by just looking at the malls and dividers of GS Road. Instead, it had taken into account vital feedback that citizens and taxpayers had also sent parallel to the reports sent by various government departments and agencies. The same people – citizens and taxpayers – who had sent their feedback to the Ministry of Urban Affairs during Swachh Survekshan, are also going to cast their votes when election to the Guwahati Municipal Corporation takes place in a few months from now. It is high time the government, and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and PWD Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma particularly, took serious note of the basic issues and problems of Guwahati and not be guided only by a handful of officers who in turn are often accused of being guided by a section of unscrupulous contractors.

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