Many works fail to see light of day in Ward 48
Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Nov 13: Most of the areas of Ward number 48 are reeling under water crisis as the supply of water here is made after three days and that too with contaminated water.
Claiming this, Sham Lal Basson, elected Councillor of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) from the Ward said that he moved from a Junior Engineer to Union Minister to get solution in this regard but nothing fruitful emerged and this problem is existing in the Ward right from the Independence of the country.
In an exclusive interaction with the Excelsior, Bassoon, who is an Independent and a first time JMC Councillor informed that areas of his Ward include Gorakh Nagar, Sheikh Nagar (old), Basti Bazigar (new), Basti Bagh Mohalla, Masjid Mohalla, Pacca Tallab Mohalla, Kalika Colony and Gujjar Mandi.
He said that old pipes in the Ward need replacement and a project of Rs. 7.25 crore has been sanctioned in this regard, which also include two tube wells, tendering for which has been done but the work has not been started yet.
The JMC Councillor claimed that widening of Har Ki Pouri road and construction of a small bridge at Poonch Basti failed to see the light of the day due to lack of funds though these issues were also raised at the general house meetings of JMC.
It is pertinent to mention here that the elected body of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has now completed more than four years of mandated five but still the development crisis exists in the Ward.
“Due to paucity of funds, only 50 per cent work on lanes and drains has been done in the Ward by now while the problem of stray animals still exists here,” he said.
Sham Lal informed that a diversion for the vehicles going to the shrine of revered Bawe Wali Mata is resulting in wastage of time for the visiting devotees at the shrine as the vehicles take more time now as they have to reach the shrine taking a long detour.
He also said that there are three Nallahs in the Ward which cause havoc in rainy season due to deluge inflicting damage to the adjoining houses but no work has been done so far to correct these deep drains.
The Councillor said that sewerage project is still incomplete in the Ward and a crematorium in the Ward has now been properly developed while there is a playground at Govt Higher Secondary School near popular Fort Shrine on which Rs. 50 lakh will be spent for development.
“The popular park of Bagh-e-Bahu is very much in my Ward while along the canal flowing in the area we have made Captain Ashok Park near New Basti,” he maintained adding that detail project report for works under the second phase of aquarium is also underway.
Sham Lal also said that the project of ‘Ganga Ghat’ under which developing the bank of river Tawi at Har Ki Pauri on the pattern of what is there at Haridwar could not be started due to paucity of funds and official red tape.
He said that non-BPL widows, elders and physically challenged persons from the Ward are now suffering a lot as the authorities have now made regulation for pensions exclusively to Below Poverty Line (BPL) people barring widows, elders and physically challenged people from non-BPL category.
“Even the BPL Ration Cards are now not being made while process for correction in Ration Card has also become a problem now due to the tough procedure,” Sham Lal further said adding that another issue being confronted by the Ward is that of addiction while the cases of snatching have also been reported from some areas of the Ward for which the police should act strictly.
He further informed that there is a shortage of Safai Karamcharis in the Ward and against a requirement of 35, the Ward has been provided only 21 Safai Karamcharis and they have also not given the required equipments to work.
“As there is popular Fort Shrine in the Ward, so the number of Safai Karamcharis here should be increased and they should work in double shifts,” he maintained.
The Councillor said that almost all the people in his Ward have made their Ayushman Cards and Aadhar Cards while all the eligible persons have got Voter cards and doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Sham Lal informed that work with expenditure of Rs. 2.14 crore is underway at Balidan Stambh Park while proposals have been sent to the authorities for drainage work worth Rs. 2.58 crore from the Fort Shrine along with installation of two water ATMs and two police booths at the route leading to the shrine.
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