Stink, sludge and misery in ‘low-lying’ Millat Nagar
Residents lament lack of development – be it roads, streetlights or sewer lines
LUCKNOW: Heavy showers during the past few days have already poured misery on the densely populated low-lying Millat Nagar area in Old City. But the place has become a ‘bigger hell’ for residents after rainwater started receding here.
The area – having a population of more than 60,000 – was inundated for two weeks, but now water-logging, sludge, garbage and stink are haunting people here.
The ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ seems more of a farce, lament people staying in the area on the banks of Gomti.
“We are living amid hellish conditions. The administration and the LMC are not paying heed to our basic needs of road, sewerage lines, drinking water facility etc,” said Mohammed Issaq, a trader, who is settled in Millat Nagar since the 1990s.
Issaq said he bought land from his relatives at a nominal price
but soon realised why this plot was sold to him at a throw-away price. “The area is prone to heavy water-logging every monsoon, forcing people to shift to other locations,” he said.
Residents of the area say dealing with post-monsoon blues is tougher as roads have become ‘muddy pools’.
“We are stranded in our own houses as one cannot walk on the sludgy road,” says Akhtari Fatima settled in Millat Nagar around 20 years back.
Fatima says schools-goers are worst hit. “Our children cannot
go to school as the van/bus drivers have refused to enter the locality. Besides, the muddy roads are also resulting in frequent accidents,” she adds.
Fatima lives in a one-room dwelling situated adjacent a huge dairy that houses 20 buffaloes.
“In such an environment, people face the risk of getting dengue and malaria infection. Quite a few people are complaining of itching and de-colouring of skin,” she says.
People say the locality hasn’t witnessed any development in three decades.
“Our locality has nothing — be it roads, streetlights, sewer lines, water pipelines and parks. The area has never been on the priority lists of any government,” says Mohammed Ansari, another local.
Ansari says, “The Swachh Bharat Mission’ is a farce. People in adjoining areas like Faizullahganj, Hussainabad, Daulatganj, Thakurganj, Yaseenganj, Wazir Bagh, Billaujpura, Khadra and Mehbullapur are living in similar conditions. This despite the fact that these areas are just 350 metres away from the most beau
We are living amid hellish conditions. The administration and the LMC are not paying heed to our basic needs of road, sewer lines, drinking water facility etc,
MOH ISSAQ, a Millat Nagar resident
tiful heritage area in the city – Tilewali Masjid to Chhota Imambada stretch.”
Residents say initially they had expectations from the state government as there was focus on cleanliness.
“But now, we have lost hope as none of the agencies have approached us (since the formation of government) for development work in the area,” added a local.
However, municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi says colonies like Millet Nagar and Faizullaganj are unauthorised and constructed in an unplanned manner.
“As these localities are already in low-lying area, we are unable to flush out water from here,” adds Tripathi.
LMC has already written to the district administration seeking action against builders who facilitate colonisation in such areas. The civic body is also carrying out fogging drives in these areas to check vector-borne diseases, he says.