Tezpur: The people of Greater Mazgaon under Mazgaon Gaon Panchyat and Gharpara Chuburi of ward 16 under Tezpur Municipality Board on Monday staged a protest against local MLA Brindaban Goswami for his alleged indifference towards the development of roads and other work in the area.
The road connecting Goswami's residence with the main road where there are three schools - Sacred Heart High School, Shankardev Sishu Niketan School and Gharpara Chuburi Lower Primary School - is in a deplorable condition, making it difficult for school students to commute.
Tezpur has always been known for its beauty but the dilapidated condition of every link road in the town has failed to attract tourists to the historic town. Apart from the link roads that fall under Tezpur municipality and panchayat areas, the roads connecting the three schools with other parts of the town has been in a deplorable condition over the past 20 years.
The protesters on Monday blocked the roads coming from Gharpara Chuburi and Mazgaon to Sacred Heart School from 8am, shouting slogans against Goswami until the district administration reached the place and assured the locals about the development of roads. The residents submitted a memorandum to Sonitpur deputy commissioner through the circle officer demanding immediate repair of the roads before the monsoon.
In summer, these roads pose a serious threat to the commuters. Accidents are common because of knee-deep potholes on these roads, which have become a regular affair, but nobody is bothered about them. The residents here are expressing total dissatisfaction over the stagnancy in development in every field while the much anticipated development that was supposed to take place during the last 15-20 years in Tezpur has not materialised till date, dealing a blow to people's hopes.
An estimate cost of Rs 49,480 lakh has been submitted to the concerned authority by the Tezpur PWD but the funds have not been sanctioned yet, PWD engineer Krishna Hazarika told the protesters. All efforts to contact Brindaban Goswami proved futile.
