Even after 135 years, Kangra MC limits not extended

Ashok Raina

Kangra, September 3

Kangra, one of the oldest towns of Himachal, has been at the receiving end. Politicians both of the Congress and the BJP have failed to do much on the development front so much so that even its municipal council limits have not been expanded ever since its inception.

Kangra town, seat of Bajjreshwari temple, attracts lakhs of pilgrims and tourists annually but the development of the town has been pushed to the back burner by the consecutive governments because the town has been lacking a dynamic political leadership.

On September 3, 1883, during the British rule, an ‘Existing Committee’ was constituted to take care of the town spread over 3.121 sq km. It was converted to ‘Small town Committee’ on May 26, 1923, and then to Municipal Committee on 

January 25, 1955, to be headed by a local administrator. It was in December 1994 that the present Municipal Council came into being. It has nine wards.

The population of the town as per 2001 census was 9,156 which has not even crossed 9,500 as per the 2011 census.

The council is spread from Old Kangra Banner Bridge to Chaker Kund and Gupt Ganga to near the bus stand.

The town has spread fast on the outskirts of the municipal council area and multi-story buildings in this seismic zone V are coming up without any check from the government.  These new localities are without any facilities of sanitation.

Newly elected Municipal Council chief Ashok Sharma said the town needed expansion so that it developed in right perspective. He said he would take appropriate steps in this direction. Former Municipal Council chief Suman Verma said Jayanti Vihar, NIFT area, Balaji Vihar, Ambika Vihar, Vivekananda Vihar, half of polytechnic premises and even the new general bus stand do not fall within the Municipal Council limits. Unplanned houses were mushrooming without any check. She said that she had requested the Urban Development Department several times to include all these new colonies in the Municipal Council but without any response.

The new localities lacked sanitation and cleanliness facilities these being out of MC limits, which have been extended even after 135 years of its existence.

Residents here demand that the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur should intervene and order for the expansion of Municipal Council limits in public interest. 

Unplanned localities mushrooming

• Former Municipal Council chief Suman Verma said that Jayanti Vihar, NIFT area, Balaji Vihar, Ambika Vihar, Vivekananda Vihar, half of polytechnic premises and even the new general bus stand do not fall within the Municipal Council limits. Unplanned houses were mushrooming without any check. 
• She said that she had requested the Urban Development Department several times to include all these new colonies in the Municipal Council but without any response.