Jammu, September 10: Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, the much publicized dream project of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched all over India is being literally thrown into garbage dump by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) which has taken it on itself to fail the project at least in Jammu under the very nose of the BJP-PDP government running the state.
The utter failure of the JMC to maintain cleanliness in Jammu peripheries has not only challenged PMs Swatch Bharat Abhiyan but also putting the health of the citizens at great risk besides presenting a shabby look of the temple city.
The height of the things is that JMC which spends crores of rupees on so called cleanliness drives does not bother to use its own dustbins to dump the garbage but instead throws it on public places near schools, meditation homes and other places all over the city spreading a foul smell in the residential areas.
One of such open illegal garbage dumps has been created at New Plot near a kids’ school and a meditation home on the main road which is used by the public as well as judges of the High Court even as the designated dustbin is just a few meters away.
The practice of throwing garbage anywhere in the city has not only made the city as a stinking garbage dump but is also putting the health of the residents particularly kids at great risk.
The working of JMC which has come under severe criticism from the residents all over the city has been sleeping over the issue and hardly bothers to look into the problems of the residents who have been left on the mercy of the JMC and its careless officers are busy in appeasing their own higher-ups to remain in their good books.
However what baffles the common citizens is the fact that none of the elected representatives, ministers or even the bureaucrats has raised his eyebrow over this shabby look of the city and everybody continues to live the normal life away from this stinking mess while the common man suffers the apathy of the Jammu Municipality.
The recent floods and the already chocked lanes and drains have only added to the miseries of the common people who are aghast at the situation where nobody seems incharge and nobody seems bothered for the ordinary masses.
While the condition of the roads is going from bad to worse the addition of the stinking garbage everywhere is confounding the chaos in this temple city which the JMC seems hell-bent to convert into garbage city of the state.
It is time the powers that be take serious note of the situation and take the officers and other people of the JMC to task for their utter failure to live upto the expectations of the people and the job for what the department has been created so that people heave a sigh of relief.
The present political crisis that has hit the state is being used by such people for their vested interests knowing well that Jammu leaders are not keen to address the real problems of the people of the city while they enjoy the spoils of the newly found power.
Now it is to be seen whether the government acts tough and makes JMC answerable before the general public. Only time will tell.