GAURIPUR, Aug 4 - Gauripur town in the district of Dhubri and once the capital of the Gauripur Zamindary Estate was a beautiful place having varieties of valuable trees, well-constructed drains, straight roads, was neat and clean and full of a huge number of heritage buildings. People from all sections were grateful to the zamindars for taking measures to keep the city spic and span and free from pollution.
But those days are long gone by. The Gauripur Town Committee, established in 1919 has completed hundred years of its existence, but till today it has failed to allocate a piece of land for a garbage dump, as a result of which, presently almost the entire town is full of filth and garbage strewn here and there, except for a very areas.
The population of the town having four wards has increased by leaps and bounds after the value of land increased exponentially. Consequently, the wastelands have been filled up. Unplanned construction of dwelling houses has been carried out, leading to creation of many lanes and bylanes, which has resulted in water getting stagnant in many areas.
The town committee used to dump garbage and other plastic waste on the banks of the Gadadhar river causing serious health hazards and pollution. In the main market area, the tea-stall owners and shopkeepers throw plastic cups, plates on the street. Many shop employees throw garbage on the streets itself as the dustbins placed by the town committee are very few. That there is no dustbin in front of the Gauripur Community Health Centre is a matter of serious concern for the patients as well as the general tax-paying public.
The old drains and roads of the town are full of garbage and plastic waste, but these are not cleaned regularly. A year ago, the Executive Officer of the town committee issued a notice banning use of plastic materials in the market but the shopowners and their employees did not pay any heed to the notice. Stray cows and bulls feed on this plastic waste which leads them to their doom.
The town committee has also not arranged for any awareness programmes in the town to make the people aware of the plastic menace. Garbage dumped just under a hoarding on the BR Road gives a clear picture of the utter negligence shown towards the people by the authorities.
It is high time to keep the town free from the use of plastic materials and keep it pollution free for its all-round development and to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
Munificent endeavour of Bilasipara East MLA praised: After visiting the Kazipara village under Ward No. 4 of Chapar Municipality, Ashok Kumar Singhi, MLA of East Bilasipara LAC was very much surprised to know that the only road of the village near the Young Club has remained neglected for years together. Consequently, the students, teachers and the general public have been facing hardships. The MLA took up the matter and got the construction of the 400-metre long road done in a day by spending Rs 10 lakh from his own pocket. His benevolent action has been praised by the people of the locality. He also made arrangements for the repairing of 17 roads in Bilasipara town by spending a lot of money from his own sources.
In order to prohibit the use of polythene cups, he met the potters of the area and requested them to supply earthen cups to the shopkeepers and also urged them to make arrangements for supply of necessary clay for their use. These measures taken by the MLA have drawn widespread acclaim by the people, who have asked him to take up more developmental issues in the remote rural areas of the constituency.
