GMC fails to realize traders’ woe
It is more than six months, when Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) decided to construct four city markets buildings at a time and in a hasty action a ‘mockery of foundation stone’ laying ceremony of four markets were done by nobody else than the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi himself at a single place located in densely populated area of Ulubari. The existing Ulubari GMC market had to bear the brunt of damages of the stalls created by the poor traders of the market for the function. GMC Commissioner and Mayor along with some other GMC officials approached the office bearers of the Ulubari Bazar Committee on March 4,2014, with the information that the foundation stone laying ceremony would be done by the Chief Minister, the following day i.e. on 5th March at 11 a.m. They ordered dismantling of about two dozens of stalls in the market to provide space to make stage for the programme. The traders of the market were informed that they would be getting a good building for their shops very soon. They had to lose their shops and daily business for several days consequently.
It was on March 5, 2014 when India’s Election commission was to announce the Lok Sabha elections in the country. The chief minister was to perform foundation stone laying ceremony which was scheduled at 11 a m and accordingly the traders and the people of the locality were given to understand to attend the function. Surprisingly, the programme was preponed for 9 a.m. and the so-called drama of foundation stone laying ceremony of Ulubari, Rup Nagar, Ganeshguri and Fatasil these four GMC markets were performed at the same site. It was informed that because of declaration of Lok Sabha polls it was necessary to speed up construction of markets before the introduction of code of conduct by the Election Commission.
The city traders were kept in waiting for several months to see the work to start. According to GMC, the contractors were given the work orders to begin the work. On September 24, 2014 a meeting of GMC officials held with the contractors on progress of work. It was found that even the arrangement of water which is most essential item for use by human and construction work was not done. The power connection has recently been arranged by the contractor, but the temporary camp and toilet for use by watchmen and laborers has not been done so far. Some iron rods are seen at the sight and a few laborers are cutting iron rings for last few days. The piling work is yet to start. The traders of the Ulubari market whose stalls were demolished have not got any relief either from GMC or the contractor. They have been left to continue their business in miserable conditions.
The contractor has not provided any work schedule to the Bazar Committee, which can enable them to observe the progress of work as agreed upon by the GMC. They feel there is lack of coordination between the GMC and the contractor due to which there is delay in the construction of the market. Although the contractor has obtained power connection from the APDCL, the piling work at the sight has not been started as yet. Keeping in view the plight of traders, the Market committee has requested the GMC officials to review the entire matter related to their market and get the speedy momentum to complete the project in the interest of suffering poor traders.
Other Contents by Author
A city based NGO, Citizens’ First, has appealed to the district administration to remove all hazardous towers of mobile phones from different localities in Guwahati city and surrounding areas to ensure safe living condition for the citizens. Submitting memoranda recently to the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro), Commissioner, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Member Secretary, Pollution Control Board, Assam, the organization has brought it to the notice that different companies like Reliance, BSNL, Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel and Tata Indicom etc; have installed their towers in different areas of Guwahati city. All such towers are installed within the jurisdiction of Guwahati...
‘Majority of the four lakh displaced people of July 2012 violence in Bodoland did not return to their homes apprehending fresh attack from miscreants of rival communities due to burning of their houses’, said Prof Vipin Kumar Tripathi of IIT, Delhi and a social activist, after his three days tour to Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts.
Speaking to media persons at Guwahati Press Club on October 10, 2012, Prof Tripathi gave a brief description of the prevailing situation in the strife torn areas of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD). He said that during his contacts with the affected people in the relief camps at Khargaon, Bhotgaon and Bilasipara etc, he came to know...
Assam Don Bosco University is going to hold its first ever convocation on September 19, at its Azara Campus. Assam Governor, Janaki Ballav Patnaik will be presiding over the function and Prime Minister’s Adviser, TKA Nair will be the chief guest who will deliver the Convocation address. In a press conference at Guwahati Press Club on Friday, the vice chancellor of the University Fr Stephen Mavely SDB said that the Assam Government favored the Don Bosco Society with a letter of intent to establish the first state university in the private sector in Assam on March 29, 2008. Since then the University has made immense strides in all fields-infrastructure, academic and research departments...
The recent riots in Assam’s BTAD, were absolutely preventable, but could not be prevented due of the criminal dereliction of duty by officials starting from the officer-in -charge of Kokrajhar police station to the highest authorities of India’s military establishment, alleged Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR). Releasing a report on the recent Badoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) disturbances, Chakma asked the Prime Minister, Man Mohan Singh to order an inquiry into the refusal by the Army to be deployed in the riot affected areas, fix the responsibility and take necessary measures including disciplinary action for criminal dereliction...
Much awaited Rs32 crore aerial ropeway project between north and south banks of Brahmaputra river connecting Guwahati city and North Guwahat, undertaken by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) remains under the shadow of uncertainty due to objection raised by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). According to reliable sources the GMDA issued work order for construction of the ropeway connecting both banks of the Brahmaputra via Urvashi Island to M/s Samir Damodar Ropeway Pvt Ltd, who constructed four big size RCC pillars in the Umananda Island to install high structure for ropeway project. Getting reports of some irregularities a team of a NGO, namely, Citizens’...
National Panther Party chairman and a member of National Integration Council , Prof Bhim Singh, who recently made a hectic three day visit to conflict torn districts of Kokrajhar and Dhubri in Assam, bordering Bangladesh, has said that the situation in Assam is not like Jammu and Kashmir as observed by certain leaders in the country.
Addressing the media persons at the Guwahati Press Club on 2nd August last he urged the Central government to intervene in Assam to restore peace, communal harmony with return and rehabilitation of about four lakh displaced Bodo and Muslim migrants, in the interest of National security and human dignity.During his visit to some migrant camps in the districts...
The Archaeological Survey of India as a part of its 150th anniversary celebrations organized a two days regional conference on archaeology of North Eastern India recently in Guwahati. Scholars from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur Meghalaya and Nagaland participated in the celebrations.
The earliest inhabitants of the northeastern region are assigned to the middle Pleistocene period as attested with the findings of paleoliths from its different arts including Daphabum area of Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh, Khangkhui cave site, Songbu and Tharon cave of Manipur, Tilla site in Tripura, Rongram Valley of Garo Hills, Meghalaya. The region has also attested the prevalence of upper...
I remember the day when my news report about Assam state’s excise department’s inaction in respect of auctioneering of liquor sales system in Guwahati, was not published in the news paper to which I represented. I had tough time in procuring the news through a reliable source. The source from which I got the news had no right to interfere into the continued malpractices going on in the excise department of the state. There was a clandestine understanding between the existing dealers and excise officials. It was at the fag-end of the year 1981, when I entered into the field of journalism after passing long 25 years’ career in marketing. I joined an English daily newspaper,...
Mission of Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) is to eradicate illiteracy from rural areas, particularly tribals, so that a literate population simultaneously gets access to primary health, child care and gainful self-employment to empower them economically and socially. The Society established in 1989 along with likeminded organizations, has now spread to nearly 38,120 villages as on June,30,2012, in 23 states of India, where 10,76,691 students and lakhs of adults in villages are getting benefit of the Ekal’s education programmes. In the North East Ekal has its presence in 3,060 villages with about one lakh children being given support education. The society has evolved a cost effective...
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a revolutionary Act of the Government of India with tremendous potentiality of eradicating unemployment situation in the country. On February 2, 2006 first phase of NREGA implementation was started in 200 districts of the country in which seven districts of Assam were also incorporated. In the year 2007, the second phase of NREGA had started where five districts of Assam were also included. The third phase started on April 1,2008 where remaining 14 districts of Assam came under the purview of the Act. Hence, at present all the districts of Assam are implementing the provisions of MGNREGA.
On March 31, 2012 Assam completed...
Add new comment