The BJP and the Congress on Thursday traded charges over the lack of civic amenities in Solan city, even more than five years after it was upgraded to a municipal corporation. A key issue such as linking all households to sewerage has not been resolved and sewage can be seen overflowing onto roads, said people residing near St Luke’s School and several other localities. The BJP has been accusing the Congress of failure to expand the multi-crore drainage scheme, which it had introduced in 2008. With little road expansion, the city has become a nightmare for motorists who are forced to spend substantial time in traffic jams. Though there has been an exponential growth in the number of vehicles, successive governments have not planned the construction of flyovers or arterial roads.
Further, failure to install CCTV cameras in the city is also being seen as a major cause of rising crimes, including thefts and drug addiction. Though some CCTV cameras were installed in some areas, a proposal to cover the city mooted by the Municipal Corporation had not been allotted requisite funds. Both parties have once again listed CCTV cameras as as priority in their manifestoes. “Issues such as drug abuse, thefts and crimes by migrants can be effectively controlled if the city is covered with CCTV cameras,” say residents.
Apart from promising parking lots, both parties have not exhibited seriousness in addressing the key problems plaguing the city. To woo voters, some Independent candidates have gone to the extent of announcing free ambulance services for residents, especially the elderly.
Ramesh Chand Bansal, an Independent candidate from Ward number-2, has promised the installation of five water coolers, besides contributing his entire honorarium to the welfare of the ward residents and the appointment of sanitation staff. He has assured voters of fulfilling these promises in the next 15 days.
Dipin Bakshi, another Independent candidate from Ward No. 3, has promised to provide free ambulance services from tomorrow.
While BJP state president Rajeev Bindal has been accusing the state government of failure to fulfil poll promises of 2022, Congress leaders like Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Vinay Kumar and Cabinet ministers have been raking up the issue of factionalism in the BJP and the lack of fund allocation by the Central Government.
