The Umarkote Congress held a demonstration in front of the Umarkote Municipality on Thursday alleging poor sanitation drive by the civic body
The party alleged that the cleanliness drive in the town is nothing but an eyewash as no work has been done on ground. Garbage piling up on the roads and overflowing drains reflect the sorry state of affairs on the sanitation front in Umarkote.
The municipality spends lakhs of rupees per month for sanitation, but it seems only in pen and paper. The organic dumps not only attract flies but also turn into a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Crores of rupees have gone down the drain in the name of improving civic facilities and development as most roads in the town have developed cracks and potholes within six months of being renovated, the Congress leaders alleged further.
The municipal authorities have failed to check the menace of stray cattle on roads, leading to regular traffic jams, especially during peak hours here. As if unauthorised encroachment of pedestrian walkways was not enough, the presence of stray cattle on the roads often poses a problem for commuters as there is hardly any road here that is free of stray cattle.
The problem gets compounded during the rainy season as the roads become slippery because of filth caused by the cattle. As there is no service in place to catch cattle, there seems to be no end to the woes of the commuters, they said. They further complained that poor people are unable to get the benefit under the Harish Chandra Yojana.
Though people constructed latrines in their houses under the Swachh Bharat Mission, they have not received the funds from the civic authority despite paying the illegal gratification to the officials. Besides supply of drinking water is not available in some wards. Umarkote is the second largest town and commercial hub of the district. The demand of Umarkote denizens for declaration of Umarkote as Sub-Division is lying since long, but the administration has not taken any preliminary steps for the same, they alleged. They also threatened to start an agitation if the problems are not resolved within soon. They also handed over a memorandum to the Tehsildar-cum-Executive officer, Umarkote Municipality Himachala Majhi addressed to the Governor. Among others, Nabarangpur District Congress vice-president Tapan Debnath, secretary Satya Narayan Padhy and Umarkote Town Congress president Tulu Sahu were present.