Local issues to dominate Hisar MC poll

Deepender Deswal

Electioneering for the municipal corporation (MC) elections in Hisar town reached fever pitch. The candidates for the posts of Mayor and councillors made tall promises in an attempt to lure voters. However, the electorate wants them to make the town a livable place with simple solutions to their genuine problems.

People are least interested in unrealistic promises such as transforming the town into a European city, and are demanding basic amenities such as cattle-free roads, clean potable water, proper drainage, adequate parking etc. Encroachments in markets and unauthorised constructions have defaced the town. The drainage system is in ruination in many localities, and people bear the brunt every time rain occurs. Cleanliness continues to be a major source of inconvenience for town residents as safai karamcharis of the municipal corporation are deputed to the residences of senior government officials.

“Big ticket projects are like big dreams and they can be taken up later. But main issues be addressed first,” says Arun Sihag, who runs HUM, an NGO. Already, roads and markets in the town are bursting at the seams with heavy traffic. “There is hardly any parking space in main markets. Shopkeepers have encroached upon spaces in the Rajguru market, leaving little space for parking vehicles. Traffic management seems to be altogether missing,” adds Sihag.

The stray cattle menace is a major issue in the elections. At least 15 persons have died in road mishaps involving stray cattle this year. The MC authorities are not bothered about the problem at all, says Trilok Bansal, a resident of Sector 16-17.

In fact, the delay in shifting dairies out of the town is the root cause of the cattle menace, as cow breeders too leave their animals out in the open after milking them.

MC sources say that there are 325 dairies having around 3,000 buffaloes and cows in the town, mainly Multani Chowk, Vijay Nagar, Padao Mohalla, Azad Nagar, Mill Gate area, Shiv Nagar, Surya Nagar, Sainiyan Mohalla, and Badwali Dhani. “People in areas adjoining these dairies are living in unhygienic conditions. Stink and animal waste expose them to various diseases,” says Sihag.

Congestion in main markets in the town is another cause of embarrassment for people. “Shopping in the main Rajguru market is a headache due to encroachments done by shopkeepers. Moreover, visitors are being charged illegal parking fees by stooges of local politicians in connivance with municipal corporation officials,” alleges Tilak Raj, another activist.

He hopes that a strict taskmaster will become the Mayor of the town to set things right. “Though there is state government, local administration and the Municipal Corporation to redress the grievances of people about basic amenities, none of these have been successful in resolving their problems. The mayoral election has raised the hope of people that something positive will happen in the town,” says Tilak Raj.

In Hisar, the Municipal Council elections were held for the first time in 1987. Earlier, residents unanimously nominated members to the local body.