TEZPUR, May 12 - Better known for its natural beauty and serene atmosphere, Tezpur has nowadays become a city of garbage dumping leading into a chaotic situation in the town due to the frequent strike by the cleaners under the municipality board and the chaos and hectic lobbying among the municipality board members.
It is worth mentioning here that the Tezpur Municipal Board constituted in 1894 under the provision of the municipal Act covering an area of 7.1 sq km with a council of 19 elected ward commissioners. The slum population inside the municipal area is 6,672. The total house hold in the municipal area is 13,749.
However, the locals here lament that the Tezpur Municipal Board, which is committed to provide different facilities to the public like water, street light, roads and drainages, sanitation (lifting and cleaning of garbage) etc., has totally failed to meet all the public need.
Though in the recent past, the Tezpur Municipal Board constructed 43.9 km of roads and 112.95 km of drains for facilitating the surface communication to the common citizens and checking the vulnerable waterlogging problem, it has failed to carry out all its responsibility.
Besides, the Tezpur Municipal Board has one public burial ground, seven markets, 33 community halls and five ancient ponds which are in unhygienic state due to the lack of maintenance by the authority.
The rapid growth of urban population has also led to increasing demand on urban service which the municipal board has also failed to provide.
Meanwhile, the ongoing protest by the cleaners (sweepers), which has entered fifth day on Thursday, in favour of their various demands, including salary hike, has created an award situation in the town. Waste materials have been lying scattered everywhere in the town spreading an unpleasant odour and creating a threat to health.
Moreover, the people alleged that the municipal board authority neither addresses the issue of the workers (sweeper) nor takes any initiative in keeping the town clean by engaging other workers. Gautam Barman, a local citizen here, said, �The slogans like Clean Tezpur, Green Tezpur, Modi�s Swachh Bharat Mission etc., have no meaning here.�
He also blamed the local citizens of Tezpur as they also throw their waste materials reluctantly in front of their own gate.