GOUTAM DAS, CPM councillor of ward 7, met readers of The Telegraph in Cossim Bazar School to answer their queries. Participants included Salil Chatterjee, Gopal Raha, Sandip Banerjee, Basudeb Sinha, Basudeb Chatterjee, Dipen Kar, Ranen Bose, Prabir Ghosh and Tapan Naskar

Prabir Ghosh: Why are the stand-pipes in the slums without taps? Several thousand gallons of filtered water are wasted in the 33 slums in Bagbazar due to tap-less stand-pipes. As a result, tax-payers in the area complain of low water pressure. How long do we have to tolerate this kind of waste for the sake of politics?

This kind of waste must stop. All the stand-pipes once had taps, but the slum-dwellers broke them off to increase water flow. Even if the taps are replaced, they are broken within a couple of hours.

The borough committee has resolved to replace the taps one more time. If they are broken or damaged again, the slum-dwellers will have to replace them. If the new taps are not installed within a week, we will seal the stand-pipes.

Basudeb Chatterjee: The dog squad of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) is virtually defunct. The NGOs get funds from the Centre to sterilise street dogs, yet their number is growing at an alarming rate. In several areas, schoolchildren have been bitten by street dogs, which also litter the roads. What is the civic body doing?

If the NGOs are, indeed, sterilising the dogs, then their numbers would not have increased at this rate. The CMC squad never catches a dog without a collar. I will ask the civic body to start picking up dogs without collars.

Prabir Ghosh: Plastic trash has become the bane of the drainage and sewerage system in Bagbazar. Why can?t you collect plastic and polythene trash from households, like in Chetla?

It is a good suggestion. I have heard that the plastic manufacturers? association, with the help of the local councillor, has started the service in Chetla. I will approach the association and ask it to introduce the system in our area as well.

Sandip Banerjee: You are a doctor. What special action do you suggest to contain the outbreak of dengue and malaria?

Cleanliness is a pre-condition for arresting an outbreak of malaria or dengue. The cleaner the neighbourhood, the lesser is the possibility of malaria or dengue outbreak. Classical dengue is almost like common fever. In Calcutta, we must be more alert about malaria, as it is widespread.

Dipen Kar:What is the status of the project to re-excavate Mahratta Ditch (Central canal)? With the resumption of the tidal flow, the number of mosquitoes in Bagbazar has decreased.

The state government has plans to introduce a launch service between Lock Gate and New Town, Rajarhat, from February. Dredging of the canal and paving of its embankment is on at full swing.

Sandip Banerjee: The tram tracks have made several roads in your area death traps. Won?t the roads be repaired before the Puja?

I have taken up the matter with mayoral council member (roads) Tuhin Bera. Work has already started on Bidhan Sarani, Gallif Street and BK Pal Avenue. Repair of pavements has also been taken up.

Basudeb Sinha and Basudeb Chatterjee: We live at the edge of ward 7. The CMC sweepers of the ward refuse to clean our area, saying it is the responsibility of the sweepers of adjacent wards. They, in turn, say the same thing. As a result, parts of Rabindra Sarani and Nivedita Lane are never swept.

It is really a problem. Unfortunately, the adjacent wards do not belong to the same borough committee, which complicates matters. I will take up the issue with conservancy chief Chandana Ghosh Dastidar.

Concluded