GUWAHATI, April 1 � Disillusioned with the tall claims of political parties and their candidates, the people of Dhirenpara in West Guwahati constituency have decided to stick to the resolution of local issues as the sole criterion of choosing a candidate.
Beleaguered with dozens of civic problem, the area has long been neglected by the authorities concerned, because they believe it is inhabited mostly by people of lower and middle income groups.
Water supply has been a problem in the area since the time the residents could remember. From October till May-June, dry spells give a harrowing time to the locals, who depend on rainfall for the wells and ponds to fill up. Being a hilly area, the problem compounds as those living on the higher terrain have to fetch water from the plains for their day-to-day necessities.
�Lack of water supply is our biggest problem, which we face everyday. People have to manage their everyday household works facing acute scarcity of water for as long as six months in a year,� Abadat Choudhury, president of Dhirenpara Unnayan Samity, said. In the foothills and plains also, the condition is no better as the ground water level is very low.
�Since poor people cannot afford power pumps, most of the houses install cylindrical hand-pumps that need constant repairing. We have to incur extra cost due to this problem,� he said.
Roads are another major concern for the people of that area. Though the city has expanded towards Lokhra in the past few years, a lot needs to be done to prepare the adjoining areas, particularly roads, to bear the additional traffic rush in the area.
�The AK Deb Road has been made a pitch road by the local people, but a new problem has cropped up recently. The road has become narrow following adjustment of the water pipeline for a new water supply project at Maligaon,� said a local.
�Most of the roads of this area are in a dilapidated condition. It's muddy and difficult to ply on during rains and extremely dusty on sunny days. The Itabhata Road of the area is one such example. The residents have approached the local MLA and government departments several times requesting them to construct the road, but in vein,� a resident of the area complained.
People of many hilly localities of the area like Hemgiri Path, Mujammil Hoque Path, Amtola Road also face acute water supply crisis and bad road conditions.
Conservancy service, like most other areas of the city, is another major difficulty people face in this area. �As the area is outside the main city, heaps of garbage are often burnt on the site by men deputed by the private firm looking after conservancy services in city,� he added.
