GUWAHATI, Sept 1 - Voluntary organisation Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) today congratulated Chief Secretary Alok Kumar for his elevation to the post and urged him to work for the overall development of the city.
In a statement issued here, the voluntary organisation has drawn the attention of the Chief Secretary to the burning issues like scarcity of drinking water, lack of a comprehensive underground drainage and sewage system and open space, burgeoning population, traffic congestion, flash flood, etc. faced by the city residents for the past several decades.
The under-execution drinking water projects in the city were envisioned in 2007, and 2011 was fixed to be the deadline for their completion. But even after the elapse of seven years, these projects still remain incomplete, stated the voluntary organisation.
On the other hand, there is virtually no steps taken to provide the city with a comprehensive underground drainage and sewage system. Perhaps, Guwahati is the only city in the country which does not have a comprehensive drainage and sewage system, lamented the voluntary organisation.
Guwahati is an old historic city and after the enactment of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, the city has been made to pass 49 valuable years without a comprehensive drainage and sewage system. The findings in the archaeological excavation carried out in the Ambari area of the city have made the archaeologists believe that the city is over 2,000-year-old.
The city has remained the State capital for the past five decades. It is now emerging as India�s gateway to the South East Asia. Therefore, it deserves some better treatment from the authorities concerned to make it an inhabitable metropolis.
For the past several decades, the development programmes undertaken by several government agencies have failed to improve the condition of the city.
Less attention has been paid to preserve its forests, hills, wetlands and open spaces, to improve its deplorable public transport system, to provide shelters to the hordes of people migrating to the city from the rural areas of the State, to make its markets and eateries hygienic and also to make its roads safer for the elderly people, women and children, among others, said the voluntary organisation.