An acid test for Gogoi's development slogan

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 23: ‘Pondoro bosoror bishwax, pondoro bosoror bikash’ is what Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi opted to have told to the voters of the State in the run-up to the Assembly elections in the State. It sounds pleasant when looked from the point of view of sloganeering. However, will the voters of the State buy it? It’s an acid test. One does not need to too far to prove the veracity of the slogan coined by the Congress think tank. Guwahati city is no less than a testing ground to prove if the slogan is just or not.

The photo displayed along with this report is of an around 100-metre-long road in the heart of Guwahati. They say seeing is believing. This road with water in the middle at Paltanbazar in the city. And this road is up for receiving thousands of visitors during the SAF Games slated to be held here from February 5 as a section of visitors to the Games will come by train surely. Will the visitors from elsewhere in the State and outside Assam buy the slogan ‘Pondoro bosoror bishwax, pondoro bosoror bikash’? A million dollar question!

This road is one of the exit routs of the Guwahati Railway Station via its footbridge and the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) yard at Paltanbazar. The Paltanbazar police station is located nearby. In one side of the road some vehicles seized by the police for various reasons are seen parked. Muddy water is seen in the middle of the road as this picture has been clicked today. An incessant rain lashed the city recently. Why should water be seen in the middle of the road? This is a self-explatory photo. The photo shows that the road does not have any draige or sewerage system. Shops are seen on either sides of the road.

From hygienic point of view, what will a visitor  categorize Guwahati after seeing this road in the heart of the city and scores of its ilk elsewhere in the State capital?     

With whom lies the responsibility of developing this road? NF Railway cannot ignore its responsibility to develop this road which is one of its exit routes. The same reason applies for the ASTC or the State Transport Department. The State PWD, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) can, in no way, shrug off their responsibility to develop the road. The last but least is the East Guwahati MLA, Captain Robin Bordoloi. This road definitely bears testimony to this utter failure as an MLA.