Jaigaon call for civic body

TT, 2 Jan 2019, Alipurduar: Residents living in Jaigaon, near the Bhutan border in Alipurduar district and one of the principal transit points to the neighbouring country by road, have again raised the demand for a civic body.

"It is a longstanding demand of Jaigaon residents to declare a municipality here. The area, despite rapid urbanisation, still carries a rural tag. Sitting at the border, it sometimes is a humiliation for us that the place, through which thousands of people and vehicle move in and out of Bhutan every day, is still a village. The state government should consider the demand with priority and set up a civic body here," said R.S. Gupta, secretary, Jaigaon Merchants' Association. The residents pointed that due to absence of a municipality, there is no proper sewerage system in Jaigaon. Also, there is no mechanism to clean the garbage and most of the roads are in bad shape.

"Over the years, Jaigaon has experienced a rapid urbanisation. The number of tourists visiting Bhutan is on the rise, and so is the scale of trade and commerce among the countries. In such a situation, it is not possible for a panchayat to meet the demand of infrastructure development or to provide civic amenities as the residents want here," said Ramesh Lama, a resident.

As of now, Jaigaon comes under Jaigaon-I & Jaigaon-II panchayats, which are under Kalchini block of Alipurduar district.

Ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had visited Jaigaon town.

During her visit she had assured that senior police officials would be posted in Jaigaon, considering its location at the international border. She had also said that the state mulling over the proposal.

"Police officials of the rank of SDPO and additional superintendent of police have been posted in Jaigaon but it has not been upgraded into a civic area from a village even though over two years have passed," said a local.

The residents pointed that it looks odder as on the other side of Jaigaon is Phuentsholing, the bordering town of Bhutan. It has a full-fledged municipality with appropriate civic facilities.

Jaigaon, the population is around two lakhs now, said sources.

"There is a sharp contrast on both sides of the border. In Phuentsholing, it is all clean, with wide roads, parking spaces and planned buildings while on our side, there is dirt and filth everywhere, the roads are narrow and traffic congestion is a common issue. Tourists and visitors often express disappointment with the infrastructure," said Jainth Mundra president, of Marwari Yuva Manch.

Trinamul leaders are aware of the demand. "We have time and again raised the issue with our state leaders. It is true that if a civic body is constituted in Jaigaon, it would help to augment our support base in the district," said a senior leader.