Admin fails to keep word
Waheed Bhat
Bandipora, April 08:- Despite availability of funds to the Bandipora Municipal Committee (BMC), Bandipora town lack’s toilet facilities leading to inconvenience to the general public especially women. Locals alleged BMC of misappropriation of funds.
The Local traders are up in arms against BMC as according to them, it failed to install a public toilets in the town despite repeated reminders. Locals said BMC is receiving huge funding and also generates its own revenue but till date they have failed to provide public convenience. The public toilets constructed by the committee are defunct as the committee has not maintained them properly.
Despite Swach Bharat scheme being in place, BMC has failed to implement in town forcing people to urinate and defecate in open that gives rise to epidemic in the town.
“The Municipal Committee generates lot of revenue but that ironically is being paid as a salary to the employees in the committee who have been appointed fraudulently rather than being utilized for development of town,” said a resident, Ghulam Rasool Bhat. “There is one urinal in the market but BMC has not deputed any person there so that it could be maintained hence is defunct now,” he added.
Locals demanded immediate construction urinals and public toilets near busy markets of the area. “There is an urgent need of constructing public toilets and urinals at General bus stand Nusoo, Auto stand , Gulshan Chowk and near District hospital.
Traders’ associations have repeatedly demanded public toilets, especially for women, but in vain. Firdous Ahmad, who owns a wholesale grocery shop in Gulshan chowk, said,”A large number of women come shopping to Iqbal market all through the day. They have no clean, hygienic facility to attend nature’s call. It is really a sad scenario.”
Residents said the town has always been neglected by the successive governments and BMC has not been made accountable by the governments. They appealed Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to make BMC accountable and check their funding and its expenditure.
Wullar Mansbal Development Authority has constructed lavatory block near state Bank after some time it got dysfunctional due to negligence of authorities from that time no action was taken to make it functional again. “we plead before authorities to make it usable but our pleas goes unheard as they acted as mute spectators,” locals added.
Executive officer BMC , Ghulam Rasool Shah, said on directions of Deputy Commissioner a proposal has been forwarded for repairmen of existing toilets. He said within weeks time all the dysfunctional toilets and urinals will be made functional he said.
In January this year when Kashmir Convener contacted Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Sajad Hussain Ganie he said repairmen of the dysfunctional toilets is on priority. “I have directed Executive Officer BMC to start repearment immediately, within one month this grievance will be solved and it will b thrown open for public,” he had told this reporter.
However three months after the assurances from the DC the situation continues to be be same as none of the wash rooms were renovated.
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