Except for a water treatment plant and a Rabindra Bhavan, the residents of Uluberia Municipality have seen little development in the last 32 years. The Left Front ran the civic body for 27 years and Trinamul for the last five years. In vast areas of the Municipality, there are no roads to speak of, no drainage system or potable water and no garbage disposal system, particularly in Chengail and Bauria.
In this municipal election, the residents have voted for development. Most of the voters said that they wanted to see an all-round development of the municipal area. They have become apathetic to political parties because they think parties make false promises during election campaigns for political mileage. Shinjini Khatun, 21, a voter in Ward 22 and a BA first year student of Uluberia College, said that she would vote for whoever worked for the development of her ward. “I want all-round development in my ward. Every political party vied with each other to get maximum votes on the issue of development but I have judged the development work of the civic boards run by different parties and their future agenda,” she said.
The condition of most of the roads in her ward was bad and garbage was heaped everywhere. “Whenever the condition of the roads deteriorate, the civic body does some patchwork instead of thorough repairs. I want them to repair the roads properly. Besides, they should ensure that garbage is disposed of regularly. It accumulates on the side of the road which is a nuisance,” she said.
The administrative hub of Uluberia and its adjoining areas fall within wards 22, 26 and 27. Uluberia Court, Uluberia College, the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), the office of the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) and Uluberia jail fall within ward 22. Monsura Begum, 27, a voter in ward 26, said that she wanted a concrete bridge in place of an old wooden bridge in her area near Chhatrapati Shivaji School at Orissa Trunk Road and also regular disposal of garbage. She said that garbage is allowed to accumulate on the side of the road for days. Then it is dumped beside the national highway. “Unlike other municipalities and corporations, there is no trenching ground in Uluberia Municipality. The garbage is collected from individual houses. But the staff engaged by the Municipality for collecting garbage do not come every day. I want the new board to ensure regular disposal of garbage,” she said.
Many voters want the new civic body to ensure water supply in every part of the Municipality as quickly as possible. “Bauria and Chengail are two areas that were neglected by both the Left Front and Trinamul-led boards. Both these areas are underdeveloped without any basic civic amenities. Most of the roads are earthen and are waterlogged during monsoon,” said Haradhan Hazra, a voter in ward 8 of Chengail. He alleged that though the water treatment plant was established in February 2011, the Trinamul-led civic body failed to provide water connection to individual houses in the four years they were in power. “I agree that four years is not enough to lay water connection pipes in every nook and corner of the Municipality area. I hope the new board will try to finish the job in the next five years,” he said.
