An Open Letter to Silchar's MLA

Dear Susmitadi,

               The thousand crore carrot that had been dangling over Barak Valley for the last three years, finally seems on the way to realization. Though no provisions have been made in the last state budget, but instructions have been given to the Planning and Development department to chalk out projects and forward them for the sanctioning of the funds.

If the media reports are to be believed then, you along with the other MLAs  from Barak Valley also have held a few meetings to plan the projects. The upgradation of Silchar Cancer hospital, establishment of a medical college in Karimganj and further development of the Satindra Mohan Dev Memorial stadium are apparently some of the projects that have been discussed in those meetings.

However, as responsible citizens of the valley, we thought we should also articulate our thoughts to you regarding the use of the funds, so that you can get an idea about the desires and aspirations of the common people of the valley.

We will keep our suggestions strictly confined to Silchar town as your authority is limited to the confines of the town only. The following are some of our suggestions:

·        Please make an allocation of at least 200 crores only for Silchar town, as it is the face of the entire Barak Valley. As the second largest urban centre of Assam, adequate care has to be given to its infrastructural development and facelift.

·        The funds must be used to completely revamp the drainage infrastructure of the town, with special focus on the New Silchar localities. The storm water drainage project sanctioned during Santosh Mohan Dev’s tenure as union cabinet minister, is now lying in cold storage. Nobody knows what happened to the project after NBCC, the contractor left the project midway. Therefore, you must take initiative to earmark some part of the package for developing a robust drainage system which can also tackle the pressures of future urbanization around the town.

·        The road network of the town must be improved with the development of new roads and upgradation of the existing ones. For example, the stretch from Holy Cross school to Ambicapatty point can easily be broadened to four lanes with a divider in between. The stretch from Ambicapatty point to India club via College Road and Vivekananda Road can also be developed as a two lane road so that it help in decongesting traffic in Premtala, Shillongpatty etc. Similarly, National Highway also can be broadened to four lanes so that it can act as a feeder to the upcoming Silchar bypass. These projects will not be difficult as there won’t be any demolition or destabilization involved.

 

Stretches such as the one on the picture, near Rangirkhari market can be broadened without any demolition. Photo Copyright: www.concernforsilchar.blogspot.com 

 

·       The parking facility at Goldighee mall has come as a huge relief to the motorists coming to the heart of the town. Please develop at least two more such spacious parking lots for the convenience of the people. The Municipal Board office complex can probably have one such facility.

 

·        Make provisions for street lights across the length and breadth of the town including small lanes and by-lanes. Also innovative methods like solar panels can be thought of to make these lights functional even during load shedding. Our streets are increasingly becoming unsafe for the    pedestrians, especially the fairer gender. During the load shedding hours, this sense of insecurity increases manifolds.

 

·        The upgradation plan for Cancer hospital is indeed a praiseworthy idea. However, some provisions should also be made for the expansion of the Silchar civil hospital. It is the only government run hospital within the confines of the town and many patients find it difficult to travel all the way up to the medical college, especially during emergencies.

 

·        Last but not the least, the state government should also acquire some land in the suburbs of the town such as Sonai Road, Meherpur, Ram Nagar, Chirukandi etc. so that whenever these areas become completely urbanized, at least some vacant land is left for the development of parks, market complexes, parking facilities etc.

Broadening of the road with dividers and street lights adds to the beauty of the town. Photo  Copyright: www.concernforsilchar.blogspot.com

   We do not know whether you will even get to read these proposals. However, if we miss out on bringing these changes despite getting the thousand crores, then Silchar will have lost out on a golden opportunity to set its infrastructure right.

Regards and best wishes,

Team Concern For Silchar