Govt ignoring old Bemina

‘SMC helpline is helpless’

KT NEWS SERVICE

SRINAGAR, Dec 24: While Minister of State for urban development, Nasir Aslam Wani and Mayor SMC, Salman Sagar are busy taking stock of Muharram arrangements in Srinagar, the Shia dominated areas in Srinagar outskirts falling under the jurisdiction of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) have been left unattended.

This paper carried a news item on December 22, 2009 about the problem the residents of old Bemina are facing due to accumulated garbage in the area. Three days on, the heaps of garbage still lie unattended.

A delegation of the area told this news paper that they had brought the matter into the notice of concerned official, but nothing was done to address the problem.

“We called the SMC helpline numbers yesterday and we were assured that a team will be send to the area today, but not a single person turned up,” the delegation said.

They said the concerned authorities have not even cleared a heap of garbage lying unattended for the past several weeks outside the entrance of Imambara Ayatollah Yousuf (RA) from where a series of Muharram procession will pass from tomorrow.

“SMC has completely ignored the Shia dominated area of Bemina,” the delegation said. “Despite frequent requests, the corporation failed to install street light near the Imambaras.”

They said that in absence of street lights, people have to face lot of hardships as most of the Muharram processions are taken out in evening.

The delegation demanded that a street light be installed at important places, particularly at Azakhana Safvi Abad where a Tazi procession is taken out on the evening of 10th Muharram.

They said that the state government had assured that no stone will be left unturned for the smooth conduct of Muharram, however, most of the areas “have been left at the mercy of God”.

“The government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore as special Muharram fund, but officials tell us they have not received a penny,” the delegation said. “We need facilities particularly for first 15 days of Muharram. Six days have already passed and no official of SMC has yet paid a visit to our area to take stock of the arrangements.”

The delegation also said the government has also not allotted special quotas of kerosene oil, sugar, and rice this year.

They also said that PHE department has failed to replace damaged water tanks in many Imambaras in Budgam district, despite repeated requests.

“Even non-functional water connections have not been restored,” they said.