PATNA: Doing away with its earlier practice of deputing ten additional labourers in each municipal ward in addition to its existing sanitation staff, Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has introduced a new method for the ongoing special cleanliness drive.

All the 290 additional labourers of Nutan Rajdhani Circle are being used together in selected places of 29 wards of the circle. "It has given impressive results as with so much of manpower at disposal, the areas, where cleanliness drive has been carried out, wear a completely new look with no garbage visible along the roads," a PMC official said.

He said the new method has helped the corporation deliver desired results without spending extra money as it was using the existing resources only.

The areas which have benefited so far are Bailey Road, Boring Road, Boring Canal Road and Gardanibagh, he said.

Times of India 18.07.2009

ALLAHABAD: The corporators along with people in general put lock up of the numerous offices of Jal Sansthan while protesting against the deposition of the water tax bills at high rates on Friday. The lock up was put at the zone 1-A office situated at Jawaharlal Nehru Road, office of zone 2 at Gaughat and also at the office at Daraganj locality.

The people are protesting the hike in water tax and saying that that unless the new slab rates are approved by the government, they should not be forced to deposit the water tax at high rates.

In this connection, locals and corporators reached the Daraganj office of Jal Sansthan in the day. Shiva Tripathi, corporator present at the office said, "We would continue the struggle until the high rates of water tax are withdrawn." He further added that taking the hard earned money by the Jal Sansthan officials was unpardonable.

Kusum Lata, another corporator said it seemed that the imposition of the high water tax reminded of the Jaziya of the mediaeval period.

Anamika Chowdhry, corporator and former deputy mayor said, Jal Sansthan had taken an anti-public measure by issuing inflated bills, which had not even approved by the government. She also appealed to the people not to deposit the water tax.

Addressing the people, Umesh Dwivedi, corporator said that though it had been decided in the meeting of June 1 that unless the government approved the new slab rates, the bills of water tax would be issued on the old slab rates yet the Jal Sansthan had been consistently issuing the bills based on the new slab rates without adhering to the norms. Anand Ghidiyal, corporator from Colonelganj also exhorted the people not to deposit the inflated water tax bills so that their interest could be preserved.

The office of Jal sansthan of Zone 2 at Gaughat was locked under the leadership of Satyendra Chopra, chairman of the ward committee of 4. People along with the leader reached the office and forced the lock up of the office. They raised slogans against the JS officials on hike in water tax. A memorandum was also handed over to the manager of zone 2. The manager assured the protestors that unless the government approved the new slab rates and mayor returned to the city, bills of water tax would not be distributed among the people.