Unhygienic: Garbage overflows from vats in Patna

Patna has hardly transformed with time. Barring better roads, nothing has changed in a decade.

The city still lacks basic civic amenities like waste disposal system, proper rainwater discharge channel and streetlights. Waterlogged streets and trash strewn on roadsides are common sights.

The state government’s failure in providing basic civic amenities to residents prompted adverse remark from the high court. It accorded the title of the “dirtiest state capital in the country” to Patna this September.

The Telegraph checks out the facilities, or lack of it:

Standing

Patna ranked 43rd among 50 cities in the seventh edition of India City Competitiveness Report 2014. The ranking was done based on parameters like physical infrastructure, skilled manpower, diversity of firms and good governance among others. Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems, in its second edition in 2014, ranked Patna fourth among 21 cities in 18 states.

Street-smart

The road construction department came up with the Road Maintenance Policy in August 2013 and a private firm was awarded the contract for maintaining the roads in Patna for five years. Still, the condition of some streets, including Ashiana-Digha road, Gardanibagh, Kadamkuan and Nala roads — are in a bad shape. The rest are repaired at regular intervals.

Trash trouble

Waste removal appears to have become a perennial problem in Patna because of non-execution on Patna solid waste management project got stuck following the “infamous” rift between mayor Afzal Imam and municipal commissioner Kuldip Narayan.

Waterlogging woes

Waterlogging is nothing new for Patna but continuous accumulation of excess rainwater in several low-lying areas like Kankerbagh and Rajendra Nagar in the second week of August prompted the Patna High Court to rap the state government, including its agency PMC, and direct it to find a long-term solution to the issue.

‘Light’ promise

Despite being provided five junior engineers from Patna Electric Supply Undertaking, PMC has still not been able to repair the defunct streetlights along Fraser Road and Ashok Rajpath. Streetlights on Bailey Road, Hardinge Road and Beer Chand Patel Path have been repaired, though.

Peaceful co-existence

The JDU government has not been able to take even a single step to remove stray dogs, cows or buffaloes from streets.

On cloud nine

The free Wi-Fi facility launched in March this year between National Institute of Technology, Ashok Rajpath and Saguna Mor via Bailey Road is arguably the longest stretch of the facility in the world functioning without maintenance for the past couple of weeks.

Bus buzz

The urban development and housing department procured 40 buses under JNNURM in August-September in 2014 after a delay of seven years. As many as 220 more buses are yet to be supplied and not a new single bus under this project has hit the streets in the past two months. Similarly, BUIDCo started the work on building 216 bus queue shelters in the city in July but only 45 have come up till date.