Guwahati Municipal Corporation organised “Ward Talks”
Guwahati
Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) recently organised “Ward Talks” at Smriti Sangha in Swahid Nagar of Ward 22 received a very warm and overwhelming response form the residents of Bijoy Nagar, Noonmati Refinery and even the hills in the Swahid Nagar.
The discussion was chaired by the ward councillor Rajen Das, Area sabha Member Manoj Kumar Nath, GMC assistant engineers Cittaranjan Dutta and Sankar medhi, and GMC sanitation supervisor Sanjay Malakar. Representatives of several development committees were also present during the event.
During the discussion, GMC emphasised on the importance and relevance of proper waste segregation (wet waste and dry waste) It was mentioned that Wet waste would be collected everyday and Dry waste would be collected on Tuesdays and Fridays by the Corporation. GMC also encouraged the residents to download the Swacchata App in their smart phones which would enable them to capture and upload pictures of improper collection of garbage and issues directly onto the Swachhata App, GMC also urged every resident to actively participate in the upcoming Swachh Survekshan 2018 and create a better and cleaner Guwahati.
“The GMC is providing every kind of assistance with its limited resources. We lack in ample man power and resources; but not in grit. We are intent on making Guwahati the cleanest city and it won’t be possible without the active participation and cooperation of the people here,” Dutta, told the thronging crowd that accumulated here battling the shivering winter this morning.
Explaining about segregation of waste, Sankar Medhi said, “There are two types of waste – wet and dry. While wet waste consists of Organic wastes such as rice, vegetables etc., dry waste consists of plastic bags, bottles etc. Wet waste goes into the blue dustbin and dry waste goes into the green bin. This is called waste segregation.” “The city is facing dearth of dumping grounds and hence, by segregation, we can utilise wet waste to make manure and recycle the dry waste” Medhi added.
Both the engineers also encouraged the people to download the Swachhata app and upload pictures of dirty areas so that GMC can act on the complaints within 12 hours.
While the discussion was a platform for the GMC to create awareness amongst the people about the different cleanliness drives, it also gave the residents the opportunity to share their grievances with the concerned officials.
A member of the Swahid Nagar Unnayan Committee, a civil society active here, said, “The basic problem of this region is lack of drainage and horrible road conditions. Due to lack of drainage, storm water carrying waste and soil from the hills flow down and makes the entire area dirty. Also, due to bad roads, the GMC garbage picking vehicles cannot reach door to door.
Krishna Deka, one of the participant of the discussion forum mentioned, several road side vegetable, fish and meat sellers dump the wastes on the road itself. Several people too dump their solid wastes on the drains that block the free flow,”
Rajen Das said, that he is duty bound to serve the 35,000 residents of his ward. “I have brought lot of developmental works and will thrive to do the same in the coming days. A total of Rs 4 crore has been spent for developments in this ward over the last three years,” Das said. He also announced three other projects namely 3.5 lakh worth guard walls along the hills of Swahid Nagar to prevent erosion, 2 lakh worth stairs to a Kali Mandir atop the hill and a public deep tube well for the residents there.