FOUL SMELL AND OVERFLOWING DRAINS IN ARA

FOUL SMELL AND OVERFLOWING DRAINS IN ARA

20-JUNE-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------For months, waterlogging has plagued the area near Mathiya Hanuman and Durga Mandir on Anaith Road (spanning Wards 43 and 44 of the Ara Municipal Corporation), forcing thousands of people to wade through muddy water daily.

Construction work on the drains by BUDCO and the Municipal Corporation has remained incomplete and haphazard for years; residents of neighborhoods such as the area behind the Old Rice Mill, Bajari Mohalla, Shikshak Nagar, and Dusadhi Paswan Mohalla are deeply agitated by this situation.

One wonders where the Municipal Commissioner, Additional Municipal Commissioner, BUDCO and Municipal Corporation Junior Engineers (JEs), City Managers (responsible for sanitation), and other supervisors actually conduct their inspections or work, given that these fundamental problems faced by the public never seem to catch their attention.

Public anger is so intense that people might eventually be forced to make officials—including the local MP and MLA—walk through the very same sludge-filled drains on this road.

Every year, a budget worth billions is passed for the Ara Municipal Corporation; officials, the Mayor, the Municipal Commissioner, councilors, and other public representatives—in collusion with contractors—siphon off these funds through departmental allocations or tenders for projects that are never actually completed.

Sanitation work by the Municipal Corporation is rarely carried out effectively before the monsoon. Drains should be cleaned starting from their terminal points—such as the Gangi River ghat, the Bahiro-Son canal, or nearby ponds—as this would allow the drains to clear themselves and alleviate waterlogging.

To implement its schemes transparently and impartially, the Ara Municipal Corporation should appoint a local social activist as a brand ambassador under the Swachh Bharat Mission to lead awareness campaigns; this would foster a sense of responsibility and awareness regarding cleanliness among the residents of Ara city.