Tura, Oct 20: Former South Tura MLA, John Leslee K Sangma on Thursday questioned the ongoing construction of the town’s footpaths with flower pots and electric poles, as part of the smart town beautification project, while at the same time shooting off a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner on the matter.
According to the former MLA, the project which is being undertaken by the Urban Affairs Department and the PWD is being done without any planning and proper survey.
“Busiest parts of the town like Ringre, Lower Chandmary, Hawakhana, Circuit House junction and Tura Bazar all have footpaths on only one side of the road and the problems which pedestrians were facing earlier have now been aggravated due to ongoing construction. The purpose of footpaths is to give safe passage to pedestrians but the work being done under the Urban Affairs department has caused obstruction with the erection of flower pots and electric poles right on the footpaths,” the ex-MLA said.
Sangma added that the illegal obstruction is not only endangering the lives of the pedestrians but also a waste of public money as the work which is being implemented with huge expenses would not benefit the people in any way. According to him, the tiles which are being used on the footpaths are also not anti-skid tiles, posing risks to children and senior citizens especially during the monsoon season.
The ex-MLa also raised the issue of rampant parking of vehicles on footpaths and alleged that the authorities have turned a blind eye to the matter.
Sangma, in his complaint, urged the deputy commissioner to look into the matter and take immediate steps to remove all the obstructing flower pots, light posts and unsafe tiles from the footpaths, as well as to penalize vehicle owners who park randomly, in the interest of the general public.