May 23: The Dhubri Municipal Board has drawn up a roadmap for the development of ward number 11, consisting mainly of slums. The plans include macadamising the lanes and bylanes in the area.

The move comes in the wake of protests by the residents over the lack of civic amenities in the area.

Sources in the district headquarters said the ward, which covers part of Balurchar and extends till Bishnu Hall lane, is home to over 15,000 people, 9,000 of whom belong to the Scheduled Castes, particularly the fishing community. Bounded by Amco Road on the north and the bank of Brahmaputra from Bahadurtary to Free India Ghat on the other side, this area is connected to the town by a number of roads.

Of the 10 major roads in the ward, three are under the public works department, four under the municipal board and one embankment-cum-road under the Dhubri division of embankments and drainage department.

Expressing resentment over the deplorable condition of roads and other civic amenities in the ward, Biswanath Das, a resident, said the area was once a vibrant trading centre because of the river port at the Free India Ghat (now Panchu Ghat).

Das said around 5,000 labourers used to work at the Birla-owned jute trading centre, one of largest in eastern India. “But in 1968-69, the raging Brahmaputra carved away more than four square km of the ward, including the Birla godowns and residential apartments, forcing the industrial giant to wind up operations here,” he said. Secretary of Dhubri Mach-Becha Kina Samobay Samiti, Rabi Chandra Das said erosion and subsequent winding up of jute trade and closure of the port displaced many residents.