‘I will drown you in this dirty drain’…woman mayor’s harsh words
Lucknow: Mayor Sushma Kharkwal expressed strong displeasure over the poor sanitation system in Aliganj area of Lucknow. During the inspection of Zone-3 Aliganj on Saturday, it was found that the drain had not been cleaned for a year. On this, the angry mayor told the municipal corporation employees that… I will drown you in this dirty drain. If you are unable to work, then resign and go home. She said that the municipal corporation has spent crores of rupees for this cleaning. It is the public’s tax money, cleaning has to be done.
Seeing the mayor’s anger, the zonal officer was seen giving clarifications. He assured that the shortcomings will be removed soon. Earlier, the mayor started the inspection from Vivekanand Puri Mahanagar. There, the building owner of B 709 told that the garbage collection vehicle does not come. The cleaning workers also do not come. The mayor directed the zonal sanitary officer to clean regularly. Expressing displeasure over the unsatisfactory sanitation system in the ward, he warned. After this, she inspected Bharwara Malhaur ward. Here, sewer line was being laid by digging the road near Shahpur Primary School. The mayor was angry at this too. She said that on 27 July, she had given strict instructions to the officials of Jal Nigam not to dig the sewer line till 30 September. Despite this, the work was continued. The mayor has instructed Additional Municipal Commissioner Lalit Kumar to check the quality of the work being done on the spot. Local people near Kamal Super Store in Prembagh told that the cleaning workers are not coming to the area. Dirt is spread all over the area. Mayor Sushma Kharkwal instructed the Additional Municipal Commissioner to take action on this.
When the municipal corporation officials saw that the mayor was angry, they put the ball in the court of the working agency Suez India. They said that the cleaning company is not working properly. On this, the mayor said that when the company was not working, what action did you take against them. She called the officials of Suez Company and warned them to withdraw the tender. She asked the officials of Suez India why they did not come to the spot. Seeing the dirt in the drains, the mayor asked the officials whether the cleaning was done five days ago? You were saying that the cleaning was done, is this your cleaning system? After this, the mayor asked the officials how many sanitation workers are there here? On this, the officials said – Madam, 55 employees work. The mayor asked for the details of Aadhaar and passbook of all the workers.
The municipal corporation officials who had come to remove encroachment near Charak intersection in Chowk were heavily opposed by the local people. The drain was encroached and construction was done overnight. When the JCB of the Municipal Corporation arrived, people started arguing. They tried to snatch the loudspeaker of the Municipal Corporation. According to Zonal Officer Shilpa, the illegal construction was done recently. The one who had encroached was standing quietly on the side but the rest of the people were protesting. At the same time, the campaign of the Municipal Corporation continued till Bulaki Adda, Turiyaganj intersection. The campaign was also carried out around Girdhari Singh School.
