Palampur Ward Watch Aima: Area that won Swachh award grapples with perennial issues

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, April 6

Aima, the Ward 4 of Palampur Municipal Corporation, is grappling with perennial problems like lack of sewerage connectivity, idle parking and encroachments.

Nothing much has been done to address the issues since the formation of the Municipal Corporation two years ago, though paver tiles and streetlights have been installed in some areas.

Before the MC came into being, the ward was part of Aima panchayat, which had been awarded under the Swachh Bharat Mission for setting up the first garbage treatment plant in the state.

The ward starts from Ram Chowk and ends near the residence of Capt Saurabh Kalia. It is thickly populated and has markets, housing colonies, schools and commercial complexes, but there is no provision for parking.

Most of the inner streets and roads are used for parking vehicles, hindering the smooth flow of traffic. Sometimes even two-wheelers get stuck in the narrow streets. The idle parking on Bundla road has become a major accident hazard. Haphazard construction has squeezed the narrow roads. Till date, the MC has not taken up widening of the internal roads.

Area Councillor Anish Nag says the illegal construction and encroachments have become a big problem and the authorities concerned are sleeping over the matter. He says haphazard and unplanned construction is rampant in the ward. “Till date, the MC has failed to follow the guidelines issued by the Urban Development Department for regulating construction activities.”

Nag says his main stress is on the creation of new parking facilities in the ward.

Local MLA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ashish Butail says a French-aided sewerage project to be set up at Rs 140 crore has already been sanctioned for Palampur. Half of the town, including Ward 4, will get sewerage once the project is complete, the tendering process for which is over.

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