Elderly residents staying alone in Ward 39 were promised help to clean their backyards if they were unable to maintain it on their own. Ahead of monsoon, the season for vector-borne diseases, local councillor and mayor-in-council member Rajesh Chirimar made the offer at an interactive meet in BA Block. The ward comprises BA, CA, DA, EA, CB and DB blocks.
Chirimar was attending an interaction with local residents, organised by the Salt Lake City BA Block Residents Association, at their community hall, Utsarga.
In response to a complaint of mosquito menace, he urged residents to keep their rooftops and garage roofs free of accumulated water and garbage. “I will send out fogging teams but our sweepers can clean only till your doorstep. You need to do the rest.”
He offered to help clean the backyards and the garage roofs of elderly folks staying on their own and lacking manpower to do so. “But don’t expect us to clean every backyard,” he added with a smile.
The resident of GC Block, who is completing 10 years as a councilor, sounded stoical as he shared his view of the change he has seen coming over Salt Lake ever since he settled in the township in 1991.
“My area has already become New Market. It will soon become Burrabazar. It was built to be a satellite township for middle-income residents. Instead, it has become an urban jungle,” the Ward 39 councillor said.
“Showrooms are cropping up all along the main roads. There is rampant commercialisation. The urban development department allows up to 40 per cent use of domestic premises for commercial purposes. Of course, you have the right to get returns from your property. But there should be some self-discipline from property owners. The commercial establishments end up hanging lights from the trees on the pavement, blocking the footpath by keeping their wares and creating a ruckus at odd hours. Make a profit but let your neighbours live in peace,” he said.
He advised residents not to let out their premises to tenants who might keep their establishment open late into the night and create a disturbance in the locality.
Before he spoke, block residents gathered at the venue gave vent to their problems. People staying near the schools complained of the buildings shaking when the school buses drive by. “Can’t their entry into the lanes be blocked?” asked an elderly lady. Chirimar pointed out that the school buses used to be parked earlier on a ground in front of Salt Lake School but the ground in CA Block is now fenced off. He promised to explore other parking options. “But how can we barricade the lane during school hours?”
He reminded residents how vehicles carrying building materials too would be parked on the ground in front of Salt Lake School. “The drivers and helpers would engage in brawls at night and openly relieve themselves. Now that problem is sorted as they have shifted to the space under the Metro viaduct near Vidyasagar island.” Even that space would soon be barricaded, he said.
No season to trim
Several requests came in for trimming of trees and in one case, a complaint of the roots of a tree choking the sewage line of a building. Chirimar pointed out that a season where trees shed leaves was not the right time to trim its branches. “Right now, I am sitting on requests to cut 40 trees. We have lost a lot of trees in the series of cyclones in recent years,” he said. In some cases, trees should not be touched at any time of the year, he said. “Some trees in CB Park have branches spreading out for quite some distances. Despite people asking me to, I do not trim them. People may judge me adversely but the truth is those trees are home to hundreds of parrots. In fact, the other day I even saw an owl. Where will they go if I touch those trees?” He would look into the other trimming requests after monsoon, he said.
Late-night play peeve
Chirimar also shared instances of altercations over late-night sporting activities. “People playing at odd hours do not realise that the din caused by 20-25 of them is enough to keep those staying next to the park awake. If I try to intervene, I am told off. Our park timings are till 9pm. One should not forcefully enter and start using the park beyond that just because there is illumination,” he argued.
He also brought up an issue that residents themselves had not raised — the condition of the roads. “Roads are the biggest challenge for our Corporation. We are doing the repairs but they are not lasting. Every time there is water-logging, I get sent pictures from the contractor within half an hour as that frees them from the clause of the road lasting for a guarantee period of three to five years.” He linked the problem with the piling of building materials at construction sites. “The drains are getting choked by the building materials,” he pointed out.
When residents thanked him for sorting out several other problems, like installation of streetlights, he urged them to keep reaching out to him with civic issues. “The day I don’t get a single such call I feel like I am out of the market,” he joked.