Will give timely solution to all problems: Mankotia

‘Rainy season destroys Vikas Nagar road every year’

Sanjeev K. Sharma

JAMMU: The Vikas Nagar area of Ward Number 26 is worst hit every year during the rainy season as the road there gets destroyed in floods.
Not only this, other areas of the Ward are too continuously facing the problems of stray dogs, poor street lights, insanitary conditions, garbage disposal etc.
Rahul of Vikas Nagar informed that the water-logging on Vikas Nagar road during rains spoils the clothes of passersby whenever some vehicle passes through this flooded stretch splashing the dirty water.
“The situation is further deteriorated by the additional waters to Vikas Nagar Nallah from Sarwal and Tali Morh Nallahs leading the Vikas Nagar Nallah to overflow with water coming out on the road,” he further said adding that the gushing water sometimes enters nearby houses and shops too.
Omkar Nath-a Kashmiri Pandit living in Subash Nagar said that the sewerage network in the Ward has also become a source of trouble as it overflows at some place and all the filth comes out on road making it very tough to pass through such roads.
“The men from the concerned department take days to correct this and for all this time the locals are left to suffer,” he informed.
Many other people narrated other problems linked to stray dogs, poor lanes and drains, street lights, garbage disposal etc.
However, the people of this Ward are now pinning high hopes from the newly elected Corporator-Hardeep Singh Mankotia.
“I am very much familiar with the problems of the Ward and it will be a challenge for me to get timely solution to all these grave problems,” Mankotia told the Excelsior.
On Vikas Nagar problem, he said that rainy season leads to water logging at Vikas Nagar road owing to its low lying position and this damages the road every year.
“Right now the repair work of this road has been completed and to fix the problem permanently a proposal has been submitted to Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) for the construction of a deep drain along the banquet halls in Sarwal which will have capacity to take more water during heavy rains,” he said.
“Apart from this there is also a plan to divert and connect the Tali Morh Nallah with Janipur Nallah,” the Corporator said.
He further informed that Vikas Nagar lanes and drains are also in bad shape and soon work will be started on these.
On the problem of stray dogs, the Corporator said that the problem has become alarming now and soon they will sit in house (JMC) to decide some solution like making more cattle yards for stray dogs.
“These dogs cause much damage to the public by way of biting children and others apart from defecating here and there thereby spreading litter,” he maintained.
He further said that sanitation is also a major problem of the Ward which needs to be dealt with daily.
He also agreed that the problems due to poor street-lights, poor maintenance of lanes and drains etc are there in the Ward and will soon be dealt with.
Mankotia said that streamlining the cleanliness system in the Ward will also be his priority.
Next he said that he will work to take the government schemes to their beneficiaries by organizing awareness programmes.
He claimed that he has good relations with other Corporators and said that all of them are like brothers and sisters of a big family.
“Though we speak against each other and criticize each other during campaigning but still after election results we together work for the betterment of our city,” he said.
On blocked drains, he said that the problem has been reduced considerably in the Ward as over 95 per cent water there which otherwise used to flow in drains now goes to sewerage network.
Still, he said, he will bring a proposal in the House (JMC) for converting drains to V-shape from U-shape as former has less chances for blockages.
On the issue of dustbins, he said, that he did not accept the dustbins which were being provided by the JMC as those were of poor quality and without cover.
However, he said that in the next meeting of House, he will demand good quality and covered dustbins.
He also agreed that the use of poly bags is very much responsible for the blockage of drains and said that import and manufacture of these bags should be stopped and to discourage the public from their (poly-bags) use, fine should be imposed on its consumers.
He said that there are two-three garbage dumping places in his Ward which he will work to clear soon and door to door garbage collection system will be introduced for which two garbage collector autos will be demanded from the Corporation and this demand will be raised in the very first meeting of the House.
Mankotia won the Corporator elections with a margin of 437 votes and he is a second time Corporator in this Ward on BJP mandate. He had defeated an independent candidate Mangal Singh who was polled 533 votes against 970 votes polled to Mankotia.
Mankotia is in cable network business and his wife Komal Mankotia is a housewife. His son Manik is pursuing computer education in Canada while one of his two daughters Needhi has done Masters in Commerce and his other daughter Tania is pursuing Masters in Commerce.
Mankotia has appealed to the public of his Ward to cooperate him in making his Ward a good one in all respects and he plans two hours daily for hearing public problems.

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