GUWAHATI: In this week’s Ward Survey, G Plus checks out the unique problems of Zoo Road Tinali which otherwise, is one of Guwahati’s poshest localities
Water-logging and lack of parking space remains a perennial and the most worrying problem at Zoo Tiniali in Ward No 20.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by G Plus in which 50 families of the ward were asked questions on 14 parameters of living standards; all the respondents expressed dissatisfaction regarding the availability of parking facilities while 49 (98 per cent) said that they face water logging problems. Only one respondent said that water logging is confined to a few particular lanes only.
Besides being one of the most crowded and developed parts of the city, Zoo Tiniali area (20B) is also in the vicinity of two major meeting points of storm water drains – Jonali and Geetanagar. This has made this area prone to flash floods every monsoon.
Last monsoon, Dulal Malakar, 27, a resident of Sugam Path here, died of electrocution from a live electrical wire in the same locality that was submerged in floods.
“During monsoons, commuting through this area is a nightmare. A smart shower leaves the roads in ankle deep water while a massive downpour, the kind we receive during the monsoons, makes it waist-deep,” Priyanka Kashyap, a resident there said.
“It will take time. But with the joint effort of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the flush out time of the water has gone down significantly. When the water comes down from the hills and flows into the drains, these streams meet here and the drains overflow. We need to pump the water out with motors. The roads are being cleared within hours these days,” (who said this, think and write Avishek!!)
Residents, however, feel that there are lapses in drain maintenance that lead to the accumulation of garbage thereby clogging the water channels.
“Floods can be mitigated to a certain extent if the drains are cleared properly,” said Bikash Deka, a resident.
According to the survey, 34 respondents (68 percent) said that there isn’t any drain maintenance or the drain network here is faulty, while 10 others (20 percent) expressed that the existing network can be developed further through regular cleaning exercises.
Meanwhile, despite having a multi-level car parking facility at Shraddhanjali Kanan, the residents feel that it is hardly used resulting in faulty parking or double parking in the area.
“The Tiniali is a bit far from this parking facility. That’s why people tend to park their vehicles on the roadsides. The government should make parking at the Shraddhanjali Kanan facility mandatory and make the entire RG Baruah road a no parking zone,” Kailash Sarma, a resident there said.
In the survey, the resident also responded in the negative in six other categories viz regular supply of water, pest control, streetlights, security, public toilets and drainage system.
A tale of light and shade engulfs Zoo Tiniali at nights
A striking contrast can be noticed in the Zoo Tiniali area with regard to streetlights. While the RG Baruah Road is not only well lit but beautified with LED lights on every streetlight post, the by-lanes are mostly dark due to lack of regular repairing.
According to the survey, only 11 persons (22 percent) expressed satisfaction about the streetlights while off the rest 39 (78 percent), eight (16 percent) said their lanes are vaguely lit, 20 (40 percent) said there is insufficient light and 11 others said that there are no streetlights.
“Instead of beautifying the major roads where there is already enough light, the government should concentrate on the lanes and how to keep these more illuminated. This beautification is wastage of money that can be used for better purposes,” Kailash Sarma, a resident said.
As part of city beautification, LED lights of two tones were spiraled around the streetlight poles in all the major roads of the city, including the RG Baruah road, prior to Advantage Assam - an investors’ summit which was held here last February. On conclusion of the summit, the then Deputy Commissioner (DC), Dr. M Angamuthu, had announced that the move had been accepted by the residents of the city and hence the feature was made permanent.
“It is not just wastage but will pose a serious threat to human life during the monsoons as this area is flash flood prone. Last year also one person had died of electrocution from a live wire. This is dangerous,” Sarma added.
The incumbent DC, Virendra Mittal, had last month, announced that the LED lights will be kept switched off when it rains.
The lack of streetlights in the by-lanes has affected residents so much that they have expressed insecurity living in the ward.
When asked about the law & order condition, 42 respondents (84 percent) expressed dissatisfaction. Eight (16 percent) of them said that the ward needs more security while the rest 34 (68 percent) said that they feel insecure living there.
“This area lately has invited a lot of the young crowd who come from different parts of the northeast for education and residence. With the lanes remaining dark, these youths have become more involved in unlawful activities,” Manoranjan Das, a resident said.
Apart from these, the ward also has some good sides regarding which the residents say that they are better off than other wards.
One such is road condition. A majority of 36 persons (72 per cent) said that the road conditions are average while 13 others (26 per cent) said that the roads are actually good. Only one said that the roads are bad.
Similarly, the ward also got the approval of the residents in terms of garbage collection, load-shedding, transport connectivity and availability of health facilities.
Water logging management is not in my control: Councillor
Despite being one of the most flash flood prone areas of the city, councilor Anima Deka expressed helplessness at not being able to solve the issue as it is not within her ambit.
“Water logging issues are not handled entirely by the GMC. There is a committee that is looking after this menace of which, GMC is just a stakeholder. I cannot interfere in its functioning,” Deka, said.
In 2013, the then chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, had formed a committee to address the problem and in 2015, though water logging happened, the magnitude of the floods, according to the city residents, was not as severe.
Currently, the public works department (PWD), the GMC and the GMDA are working to mitigate water logging in the city. The councillor said that since this area remains busy and there is a lot of public congregation, a load of garbage on the drains is also high.
“There are shops that dispose of plastic wastes. Every day the fish, fruit and vegetable markets dispose of rotten garbage here. The drains and dustbins are more loaded here than in most parts of the city. But there is no scope for expansion which limits our boundary of activity to a limited area. It is difficult to maintain such a busy area with so much of traffic and population concentration,” Deka said.
Regarding parking, she said, “There is no space. Double parking on the roads has been restricted, but nobody follows. They park their vehicles wherever they want. I am aware that this causes vehicular congestions and traffic jams are a regular affair here. But if the parking lots are too far from markets, nobody will use them,” she said.
She said that most of her funds have been spent in constructing roads.
“I am glad that people have noticed that the road conditions are better here. We want to ensure streetlights too, but we don't have much fund to repair once the streetlights get damaged. Without fund, how can these works be done?" asks Deka who is an opposition Congress councillor in the BJP majority council.
Deka wishes to provide seamless garbage collection and well-lit streets in the entire ward if she wins this year’s GMC council election that is expected to be held in June/July. But, her chances do not look too bright especially after a majority of respondents in the G Plus survey marked her as an underperformer.
30 persons, (60 percent) said that she is an underperformer while 16 persons (32 percent) marked her performance poor. Only four persons (8 percent) expressed satisfaction with her work.
