Focus: CBI Court, Chandmari, in front of which is a pile of damaged vehicles with no clear decision on where to move them or what to do with them
The Court of Special Judge, CBI is located in the CGO Complex in the Krishna Nagar area of Chandmari in Guwahati. This particular area of the city is distinctly familiar as one of the many, which have houses as old as trees growing there. The lanes are slightly dilapidated but look freshly swept. The driveway leading up to the Court of Special Judge, an important extension of the Judiciary, is however strewn with what seems to be old and abandoned vehicles. With trucks, autos and medium sized cars, the entire front resembles a junkyard.
Nizarapar Road in Chandmari also houses the Chandmari Police Station. The entrance of the police station too has abandoned or unclaimed vehicles parked when this reporter went to take stock of the locality at around 3 PM on 18th February, 2021.
A senior official of the Assam Police tried to explain the matter to G Plus, “These vehicles are usually ones which have been involved in accidents, thefts or those that remain unclaimed. As they become the property of the Court, the Court has complete liberty to do what it deems fit with the vehicles. There is however due process involved before a final decision is taken which might take a while.”
The entire Nizarapar area seems to be devoid of streetlights. Right next to the Special Judge Court is a field where a football match between the local boys was ongoing in full swing. Excited chatter accompanied the calls by a nearby woman asking her son to return home before dark. “There are a lot of government offices in this area, and the Court ensures that a lot of people visit this locality during the day. But in the evening it is a different story. It gets quite dark as cases of theft have emerged and the field on which the children play has no light,” Shanti Deka, 36, resident of Chandmari, told G Plus.
It was quite evident that the areas of Nizarapar in Krishna Nagar and a few adjoining roads leading up to the Court had been freshly cleaned. The garbage dumps were cleaned out along with a few of the drains. Locals reported that this development came only after repeated complaints to the GMDA to address this concern. In fact, it was cleaned as recent as Thursday, 18th February as confirmed by a long time resident of Nizarapar. She said, “I called the GMDA office multiple times to take note of the amount of garbage that is dumped and accumulated in and around the by-lanes of Nizarapar and especially the large number of abandoned or unclaimed vehicles in the front of the Special Judge’s Court.” G Plus can corroborate her story with the before and after pictures of the locality.
“The solution that the GMDA has provided is only temporary,” the Nizarapar resident rued. “The last time these areas were cleaned were months ago. Proper drainage and dustbins installed in the area might be a way out but wishing for these things is a long shot at this point. The Court’s entrance, on the other hand, has remained an eyesore for many years now. We discuss the matter at social gatherings, we have spoken to the GMDA about it, but to no avail,” she added.
Similar problems near Dispur PS
The Dispur Police Station, located right in the heart of the city near the Assam Secretariat building, sees a heavy rush of cases getting registered at all times of the day. Right from the entrance to the end of the police station, it is a seemingly never ending line of parked vehicles which look bent out of shape. Covered in dust, they look involved in accidents or seem to have been forgotten or abandoned. Vehicles involved in road accidents or thefts, if unclaimed, become the property of the Court. The law states that the vehicles can be auctioned off as deemed appropriate by the same. On asked whether the vehicles can be kept in a separate arrangement which could help preserve their value, Prafulla Das, the Officer-in-Charge of Dispur Police Station said, “For the time being, the vehicles that are currently in these premises shall remain here as there is no other space that has been allotted as yet. Anyway it is imperative that we keep all vehicles for a minimum of seven years. The state government has however sanctioned a plot of land for the cars to be moved, but we don’t know when this is going to happen.” An official from Chandmari Police Station confirmed talks of a separate area being cordoned off for the vehicles but disagreed with the mentioned seven years’ mandate of keeping the vehicles at the police station. He said, “According to my knowledge there is no such law that instructs the police stations to keep the vehicles in the view of space issues as well, in their premises for seven years.”
What happens once the vehicles are removed?
The vehicles parked outside the Court of Special Judge, CBI, Chandmari Police Station, Dispur Police Station and Bharalumukh Police Station all remain in similar conditions. Smothered in dust, some of them need major repairs. Are the residents of Chandmari right in demanding the removal of the vehicles from the areas? Along with being a major eyesore in an otherwise tidy area, the entrance of the Court sticks out like a sore thumb. While the space can be put to use for other purposes such as parking, which is such a scarce luxury in our already booming city, the vehicles can be put up for auction. This practice would ensure that no space or resources are put to waste.
To add to the locals’ woes in Chandmari, the already dilapidated road has, of late, been converted into a dumping ground for garbage; with the garbage in the faulty drains spilling onto the streets every monsoon. "This particular stretch of road has been in a sorry state for a long time now. The road is broken, the drainage isn't proper and water gets accumulated after rain. Often, after rain, garbage from the drain spills onto the roads. It stinks horribly and one cannot really ascertain if the garbage has been thrown by the people around or has come out from the drains. But we have to live through that every day,” said Gunjan Saikia, a resident of Chandmari for more than twenty years. Recently, the authorities have taken up reconstruction work of the stretch but the shabby execution has only added to the misery of the residents. An official from the Dispur Police station remarked, “Once we have a solution as to where we can keep the vehicles, we will urge the government to turn this area into a No Parking zone. Now, more than often due to faulty or double parking, the roads have become narrower which leads to traffic congestion. Once that is solved, smoother commutation will be possible,” he added.
Would people be interested in buying vehicles involved in accidents? This reporter spoke to a few locals to understand the viability of the suggestion that if the Court decided to take the initiative of auctioning the vehicles off, would anyone even buy them? “Why not?” asks Pradeep Haloi, 23, who is visiting Guwahati to prepare for government service examinations. “I have been travelling on public transport for as long as I have been here. With COVID 19 and its dangers still not over, there is a risk in travelling with so many people on a regular basis. Most people have stopped wearing masks now and buses always overfill the vehicle with as many people as they can. I would not mind purchasing a vehicle that was being auctioned off by the Court if it would help me ensure my health and safety.”
G Plus spoke to a few locals from the Dispur area to ask them about their views on the large number of vehicles parked in and around the police station. Rita Bharali, 42, mother of a 12 year old girl, said that it is a menace to walk around the entire stretch of the Secretariat to the area adjacent the police station. She said, “We have seen the vehicles parked there since time immemorial, I do not remember if the entrance of the station was ever free from those. Not only do the vehicles make for an eyesore, but the badly bent, sometimes destroyed vehicles serve as an unfortunate sight for children who do not understand the implications of the same. Dispur PS Officer-in-Charge, Prafulla Das said, “We understand that vehicles have remained here for a long time but our hands are tied as this is under the jurisdiction of the court. As long as we don't receive orders to move the vehicles to a pre-decided place and begin the proceedings for their auctions, they will remain on the premises of the police station.” On being asked how long these due proceedings might take his answer was unclear as he mentioned that the land allocation for the parking of these vehicles has been under consideration only for some time now.
While walking on the lane near Dispur, this reporter spoke to a group of families who live in the nearby shanties. Daily wage labourers confirmed that they have seen new vehicles added to the pile every month with no efforts taken to preserve them. “We have lived here for 6 years, and have not seen the vehicles being moved anywhere.”