A garbage dump near Doordarshan Kendra on Zoo Road on Tuesday. (top) People collect water from a leaking pipe at Harijan Colony near Nehru Stadium. Pictures by S.H. Patgiri

WAR ON GARBAGE

Newly-appointed GMC commissioner Rajesh Prasad has got cracking to give the city a cleaner look, by infusing efficiency into the garbage cleaning system of the corporation. After assuming office on Friday, Prasad deputed five senior officers of the corporation to monitor the garbage cleaning exercise in the five zones of the corporation.

The joint commissioner, collector, chief engineers of the public works and water works wings and the chief accounts officer have been entrusted with the additional responsibility of monitoring garbage cleaning from 6.30 am onwards in the zones assigned to them. They will oversee the work and report to the commissioner.

The move is aimed at infusing more accountability into the system. The commissioner himself has been making rounds to ensure that there are no heaps of garbage lying on streetcorners. “My first priority is to streamline the garbage cleaning system as there is a lot of scope for improvement. We are ready to engage additional manpower,” said Prasad. The corporation is also planning to impose a penalty of Rs 500 on those who were found dumping garbage on the road after 8.30 am.

The GMC has been asked to accord top priority to keep the city clean by Guwahati development department (GDD) minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after Governor Lt Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh expressed displeasure over heaps of garbage lying unattended near a nursing home in the Kumarpara area. The governor had even summoned mayor Gunabati Teron, deputy mayor Dipankar Ghosh, commissioner B.R. Samal and joint commissioner M.P. Sarma to Raj Bhawan and gave tips to improve the garbage disposal system.

During his meeting with the GMC delegation, the governor had emphasised timely clearance of garbage and installation of an adequate number of garbage bins on the city streets.

WATER HOPES

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has decided to complete construction of the reservoir at Bankarnagar in the Uzanbazar area. The project had been hanging fire for years after the contractor moved court over some dispute with the corporation.

The corporation has now decided to revive the project after the court gave the verdict in its favour. “Since the corporation has won the case, we have taken the decision to complete the remaining 20 per cent work of the project, which will provide drinking water to around 1,000 families living in ward numbers 34, 35, 37 and 38,” said GMC deputy mayor Dipankar Ghosh.

He said the corporation was exploring various options to mobilise funds to revive the project.

Ghosh said the GMC is renovating its ageing water supply system with the Rs 5 crore released by the state government. The corporation’s water treatment plant at Panbazar is incurring a loss of Rs 55 lakh every year because of the gap between the revenue collected and the maintenance cost.

“The amount received from the state government is being used to repair defunct machinery and replace two pumps at Satpukhuri and Panbazar treatment plants as both the pumps have outlived their utility and cannot pump the required quantity of water,” a source added.

He said the corporation’s drinking water supply is poised for bigger changes as the state government has included a multi-crore proposal in the City Development Plan for augmenting water supply. The proposal will be submitted to the Centre to garner funds from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

A staff reporter