AMC facing acute shortage of employees

Kumar Rajiv NayanA

Ara :  Ara Municipality was upgraded to Ara Municipal Corporation (AMC) ten years ago. After formation of AMC, Ara residents were hopeful that the look of the town will fundamentally change but the condition still remains unchanged with filth and garbage dumped at different places coupled with encroachments on roads.

AMC has 45 wards and 270 sweepers, three JCB, three dumper,  6 tractors, one Robot and one compactor to clean the wards. The AMC takes help of two outsourcing agencies and these outsourcing agencies employ at least 400 sweepers to remove 150 MT garbage everyday and Rs 14 lakh per month is spent on the outsourcing agencies yet garbage can be scattered everywhere in the town. Even drain water flows on roads.

The sweepers dump garbage at 10 points AMC. They are : Gangi, Tilak Nagar, Gola Road, Pakadi Cemetery, S B  College  gate, Gopali Chowk, Syndicate, Mill road, Sheesh Mahal Chow and near Red Cross building, where garbage is dumped illegally. The AMC has made only one dumping ground at Majhaua. Though the AMC started door to door collection of garbage but people frequently complain that the sweeper dump garbage at the gates of their houses. Niranjan Kumar, Neha Devi, Ruby Devi alleged that the AMC  employees were interested in only minting money.

City Manager, AMC, Shekhar Kumar said that appointment of sweepers had not been made since 1970 and number of employees was coming down with each passing day. The AMC is facing acute shortage of employees, he said. Kumar refuted charge that garbage remain scattered on roads saying he himself monitors the exercise.