Fed up with apathy, 19 councillors take up ward works on own

AMBUR: Residents of Ward 21 were taken aback when they saw neatly dressed men and women councillors removing garbage, dumping sand from a tipper vehicle and staging a dharna over total lethargy of the local body in reacting to residents woes, on Monday.

Sources said that 19 of the 36 councillors, of whom 11 belong to the ruling DMK, aided by 4 independents, with the rest belonging to the BJP, IUML, AIADMK and VCK undertook the work spending their money, according to Ward 21 councillor Nabishur Rahman.

Interacting with reporters during their sit-in protest Rahman said, “We have been repeatedly approaching both Commissioner K Shakila and Municipal chairman Aejaz Ahamed on various public-related issues, but they have been totally unresponsive.”

Referring to his Ward 21 he said, “though the street in Maruthuvar Nagar was lined with paver blocks and a pipeline sunk more than five months ago, residents were yet to get water. When we asked they said deposits have to be paid and though this has been done, there has been no reaction as far as providing water is concerned.”

“In the last dispensation, we were able to provide water twice a week to this affected area through tankers, but this time, even that is not possible,” he said and added that even a request for a JCB to take up this work was refused on the ground that the machine lacked diesel. When asked about chairman Aejaz Ahamed’s response as one belonging to the ruling dispensation, Rahman said, “he does not respect councillors though we have reportedly stated that we approach him only for public grievances.” When contacted, Commissioner Shakila said she was in a meeting with Collector, whereas Aejaz Ahamed said he would talk only face-to-face and not over the phone.