* Councilor Ward-19 terms sewage project a failure*
SANJAY SHARMA
JAMMU: The residents of Chand Nagar locality falling in Ward-19 are passing through worst days of their lives as choked sewage has forced them to live under most horrible conditions as filthy water inundated streets and in many cases gushes inside houses to give a worst experience of life to hapless people as civic body remains phlegmatic towards the issue.
It is bizarre truth that despite Union Territory has got one of the biggest Sewage Treatment Plants in the country which was dedicated to people almost seven years back in 2011, people have to face such problems as the facility which has been developed long ago is underutilized due to fact that the executing agencies including Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED), National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) and Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) have reportedly failed to connect individual households with main sewerage system despite passing of several deadlines. One can term this multi-crore underground sewage project, which was started way back in 2007-2008 under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) as a big failure because except draining the public exchequer, it has served no purpose.
Suresh Kumar, a resident of Chand Nagar, said that people are facing a lot of hardships due to malfunctioning of sewage line as streets are inundated with filthy water, making it difficult to even pass through the area. “The stink coming out of mess created by choked pipelines is unbearable and is an open invitation to diseases”, he said adding that the administration is unmoved and showing no interest in putting things back on track by issuing directions to remove faulty pipelines and removing blockage.
Naresh Gupta, a local shopkeeper said that stink emanating from blocked drains and choked pipes is mocking at the much publicized Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as people here are dwelling in the worst-ever condition where foul smell and dirty water has become part and parcel of their lives. He said that either claims that the government is pumping funds in J&K in abundance are false or agencies responsible for the upkeep of sanitation are delinquent as no work is seen on ground thus affecting the business badly as customers avoid coming to the stinky locality.
Even, Councillor of Ward 19, Amit Gupta termed the aforesaid sewage project as a total failure. He said, “Soon after he I was elected as Councillor, the locals came to me projecting the very issue but it is my bad luck that despite all my efforts and sincerity, I was unable to resolve the issue.” He alleged that Government’s indifference towards the project is a main reason behind people’s suffering. Despite highlighting the issue before the Divisional Commissioner Jammu and Deputy Commissioner Jammu nothing concrete has come to fore as people are still reeling under difficulty with no signs of things turning right, he added. “It is unfortunate that Administration is boasting of making Jammu a Smart City but the ground situation is dismal as in the case of Chand Nagar and entire Jammu East Constituency. It is the responsibility of the local administration to bail out people from this difficulty as soon as possible because until the same will not be achieved, the Government has no right to say that it is a welfare state,” Councillor said.