Despite crore of rupees spent by the Pauri Municipal Council, the condition of Pauri town has not changed for the better. The refrain running among the residents of the town is that the civic body remaining engaged in construction activities, the basic problems they are facing have remained unaddressed. They say that the problems that beg immediate attention are encroachment, waste disposal and the rising number of strays like dogs, monkeys and pigs making their life miserable. They say that as the chairman of the civic body is deaf to their pleas they are appealing to the district administration to come forward to address their problems.
Pauri town which is also the district headquarters has won a tag of a town of strays. Cows, oxen, dogs, pigs, monkeys and the like seem to be ruling over the town with the scared denizens getting out of their ways. “We cannot dare incur their wrath. They gore and bite us in case we step out to rein them in,” said a senior citizen of the town.
They further say that the civic body is squandering away funds in the name of beautification of the town but it is not serious to free it from encroachment. True, anti-encroachments drives are launched off and on, but the reality is that no sooner the officers leave the encroachers return. Another grievance running in the residents is that the municipal council Palika is yet to set up an abattoir in the town despite the former chief minister having released Rs 50 lakh for the purpose.
The people say that the district administration’s role is no less pathetic than that of the civic body. A host of memorandums sent to it has failed to yield result.
Garhwal MP’s representative Vinod Sachdev echoed the same sentiment, saying that the rampant encroachment is compounding further the traffic congestion happening daily on the town roads. “Some stern steps are called for.
However, I doubt whether things would be better in near future, given the apathy of the civic body and the district administration,” he said.