SILCHAR, Sept 25 - Even as the State government has begun its preparations for celebrating Namami Barak festival, scheduled to be held from November 16-18 in south Assam, the dilapidated and unclean roads of the area pose a serious challenge to the arrangements.
As a part of the nationwide Swachhata Hi Sewa campaign, the Silchar Municipal Board organised a clean Silchar drive on Sunday at Tarapur. State PWD Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who took an active part in cleaning trash and filth littered across the road from India Club point till the flyover adjacent to the railway station, was of the view that this is the beginning of the measures to make Silchar beautiful ahead of the mega celebrations in November.
Interestingly, reacting to the rising demands from various sections to repair the dilapidated roads of the valley in general and the Silchar-Kalain road in particular, the PWD minister said, �Roads in Barak Valley have not worsened overnight. The motive behind celebrating the Namami Barak festival, like the one held in Brahmaputra valley earlier this year, is to highlight the pristine glory of Barak Valley before the people of the State and the nation. We want senior officials of the government to come to Barak Valley. Efforts are being made to improve the road condition.�
Meanwhile, despite the measures to keep the city clean, pictures of roads and street corners replete with dirt and trash tells a different story. A section of the residents of Sib Colony have expressed deep anguish over the dumping of garbage alongside the road on the backyard of the crematorium, instead of depositing it at the dumping ground.
Similar reactions were shared by residents of Chandmari area who raised questions on the poor performance of the civic board in keeping the city clean.
