GUWAHATI, June 8 - Dhiren Barua, former chairman of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), has appealed to Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi to use his good office to ensure that not a single name of those who entered Assam post 1951 from foreign lands appear in the electoral rolls.
In a memorandum to the Governor, Barua, who is actively associated with social work since 1943, also pleaded for steps to ensure reservation of 80 per cent of the Assembly seats for the indigenous people of the State, irrespective of their religious allegiance and ethnic origin.
Moreover, he said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 should be scrapped as per the demand of the indigenous people and stress should be laid on preparing a correct final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
He also pleaded for strict action against encroachment on land belonging to satras, reserve forests, hills and wetlands.
Barua, the founder president of voluntary organisation Save Guwahati Build Guwahati, also pleaded for steps to ensure supply of safe drinking water to all residents of Guwahati, an effective sewerage system for the city and introduction of innovative technology for garbage disposal and active involvement of citizens in the garbage disposal exercise.
Barua argued that Guwahati needs to re-design its entire transport system. For that purpose, its available opportunity for inland waterways should be exploited to the optimum level. In addition, the city should also have cycling tracks.
Such steps will reduce the load of vehicles on the roads and consequently lessen traffic congestion during the peak hours, Barua argued.
He also pointed to the city�s crying need for open space. The people of Guwahati, especially its children, need adequate open spaces, he said.
Barua, who has been fighting for the past about two decades for preserving the entire riverfront between Narakasur hillock and Raj Bhavan, as an open green space, reiterated this demand in his memorandum.
He also asserted that the authorities should formulate a policy for controlling groundwater extraction and water treatment facilities in the apartments, with stress on making their waste water reusable.
