Nagpur: District guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Congress corporator Ramesh Punekar were at loggerheads over unfulfilled promises made by the state government regarding job reservations for Halba community, at the former’s Janata Darbar at Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Satranjipura zone on Monday. Punekar said that during the last assembly elections, the BJP had promised reservations to Halba community in government jobs. Despite being elected and ruling for four years, the government had done nothing to fulfil the promise, he pointed out. Other residents too supported Punekar, which angered the minister, who then advised Punekar to keep mum as the Janata Darbar was organized to hear grievances from the common man.
This triggered a heated exchange between the two, and after assurances from the minister to hear his plea towards the end of the meeting, Punekar sat down quietly. Many residents had come with grievances pertaining to lack of civic amenities in their localities, which also riled Bawankule, who was insisting on counting the state government’s achievements, while the participants instead demanded that he resolves people’s concerns on priority. Shanti Nagar residents took the platform to raise the issue of electric poles in the middle of the roads causing mishaps. Despite several high court orders, NMC has taken no efforts to remove the electric poles from the middle of the roads widened under Integrated Road Development Project, pointed out residents.
They demanded that the guardian minister direct NMC’s electric department to remove power lines to remove the poles immediately. Residents from Binaki Mangalwari area, near Binaki substation, Mehdi Bagh flyover, drew the attention of Bawankule, who is also excise minister, towards illegal liquor consumption in open. “Despite repeated complaints, city police have failed to curb the nuisance. Anti-social elements in the locality boast that they are not afraid of the police,” the residents said. We have such nuisance many a times despite police picket present here for nakabandi. This speaks a lot about the intent and seriousness of city police personnel, the miffed residents said.
Residents of prabhag number 20 informed the minister they have not seen their corporators after the civic polls held in early February 2017. In all, Satranjipura zone administration received around 149 complaints pertaining to various civic issues. Of these, 39 were related to encroachments, 11 related to supply of contaminated water, 10 related to poor sanitation by NMC’s health department etc.
Mayor Nanda Jickhar, deputy mayor Deepraj Pardikar, MLAs Krishna Khopde and Dr Milind Mane, zone chairperson Yashashri Nandanwar, senior BJP corporator Pravin Bhisikar, corporators Abha Pande, Ramesh Punekar, Nitin Sathawane, Sanjay Chawre, Suruchi Rajgirhe and others were present. The Janata Darbar meet, which started at 2pm continued till 7.30pm, and Bawankule assured to resolve genuine complaints of residents within a fortnight.
