WARD WATCH 

Ranchi: Homemaker Monica Khalkho, wife of Ward 6 councillor Ashok, will contest from her husband's seat in the April 16 civic polls. She filed her nomination papers on Wed-nesday with the hope that people of the ward will elect her for all the development work done by her spouse. She jumped into the fray after the government reserved the ward for women following delimitation.

"After delimitation, this ward has been reserved for wo-men. Ashok decided to field his wife. She will win because of my son's good performance. Five years ago, this ward was the most under-developed. Now, we have roads connecting even the small pockets," said As-hok's father Pancham Khalkho.

The ward covers areas such as New Bandhgadi, New Nagar, Lichi Bagan, part of Booty locality, Cheshire Home and Shantipuram Colony.

Even two years ago, Ashok was very unpopular among people of his ward because of the poor condition of roads and drainage system. However, he put in some hard work of late and improved his ratings considerably.

Residents of Shantipuram Colony, situated on a flank of Ranchi-Hazaribagh Road near Dipatoli Army Cantonment, are a happy lot these days after the perennial drainage and road problems were solved last year.

"Earlier, our area remained flooded with sludge and drain water round the year because of poor drainage. The only artery from the colony to the Ranchi-Hazaribagh Road was a kutcha one. The artery often turned into a stench stretch whenever drain water spilled over. The situation is much better now," said Vaidyanath Tiwari, a local resident of Shantipuram Colony which has a population around 3,000.

When asked, Ashok said roads were his main focus. "Condition of the roads in my ward was pathetic. I understand the pain of people. So, on a priority basis, I constructed roads. Now, my wife is contesting and she will decide her agenda. In the last five years, I constructed five community halls," he said.

Ward 6 is part of Kanke Assembly seat represented by BJP MLA Jitu Charan Ram. The situation was so grim that Ram, a resident of Shantipuram Colony, shifted to Morabadi.

While Shantipuram's condition has improved considerably, there are several other localities in this ward still waiting for good roads and proper drainage system. This includes the area where the councillor stays with his family.

"New settlements are coming up in this ward without proper planning. Although the condition of roads and drainage has improved, a lot still needs to be done," said Kharya Toppo, a resident of Lichi Bagan.

But in terms of cleanliness, Ashok has performed miserably. A visit to the ward office on Ranchi-Hazaribagh Road reveals the mess all around. Rooms are littered with cigarette butts. The building, which remains open round-the-clock with no caretaker, is occupied by anti-social elements all the time.

"The building, which was constructed two years ago, is in a dilapidated condition now. Anti-socials occupy the rooms for drinking, smoking and gambling," a local resident said.