Chhengarchar Municipality runs short of 90pc staff

Despite being a 1st class municipality, Chhengarchar Paurasava in Matlab Uttar upazila of the district runs short of 90 percent staff in the office; and that's why around one lakh dwellers are being deprived of getting due services.

They have been facing many difficulties in the day to day life for long.

According to official sourced, out of the total sanctioned 155 posts of officers and employees, only 15 are working now in the office.

There is neither any elected mayor nor any councilor incumbent too.

The FE correspondent recently observed that the main gate and the office premises of the municipality get waterlogged as rainwater remains stagnant for days together causing inconveniences for the dwellers.

Even, the ground floor of the municipality building also becomes water-logged and that's why people coming from far-off places have to face problems and difficulties in entering and going out of the office rooms.

Initially in 1998, the municipality was C grade and then on 07 August, 2011, it was upgraded to B grade/ class and finally it was upgraded to A grade/1st class on January 11, 2017 with a view to providing better services and ensuring more civic amenities for the town dwellers. But things are yet to change or develop accordingly.

The municipality comprises of nine wards and 41 Mohollas. Around one lakh people are living in this municipality.

Every day, around 50,000 floating people including day labourers and wage earners come to the municipal area for various official, private works and to seek and do works as wage earners from remote and rural areas of this Upazila town for survival and then go back home earning their breads in the afternoon.

Talking to the FE, some conscious residents like Md Ali, Lovelu Mia, and Omar Faruque have alleged that the municipality has 50- km roads of which more than 50 percent areas of roads are still rough. The pucca roads are also dilapidated and have developed big potholes for lack of repair or renovation that cause immense problems for people and vehicles alike.

The old patients, pregnant mothers and new born babies are the worst sufferers.

The 50- km roads have only 52 street lights with electric poles. So, most areas remain in deep dark at night after the sunset causing problems for the dwellers and giving chance for committing social crimes by the evil elements.

An underground water supply plant was set up at a cost of Tk 11 crores in mid- 2022 to provide water to the dwellers.

The government is the funder of this project. But the project is yet to give any benefit to the town dwellers, although over three years have elapsed till now.

Out of around 11,000 holdings , a total of only 329 families are provided with water facilities supplied by this municipality's overhead tank. The water is often polluted which ruffles the temper of the people especially the housewives.

A housewife of Dewanjikandi, Rojina Aktar, said, ''We do not get water every day. We get water every alternate day but the water is almost dirty and hazy. We pay water bill, amounting to Tk 200/00 per month. We have to depend on tube wells to meet water crisis."

Another resident Mizanur Rahman said,'' We are hearing about the repair work going on for three years but the work is yet to be completed. So, people are depending fully on tube-well waters."

When asked, yet another resident of this area, Nurul Islam, also echoed the same complaints about water crisis, insufficient street lights and dilapidated roads.

Dewan Muraduzzaman ,a resident of Otarchar area, alleged with much regret , "The water, supplied by the municipality, does not reach our area at all."

The municipality lacks of some vital amenities like park, supermarket, Eidgah, school etc.

There are also no designated sites for dumping garbage from houses, markets, private clinics and shops and factories.

Talking to the FE, UNO and Paura Administrator Mahumuda Kulsum Moni said, "The municipality has a limited income with which development work cannot be done. Unless government allocates fund, the municipality authorities cannot undertake alone any development work. Repair work for water supply is going on."

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