Siliguri, 14th June: Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb encountered disgruntled residents of Debashish Colony and Fuleswari River area in Ward No. 24 of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) during his visit on Friday.
Reportedly, local residents expressed their fury over recurring issues of river water flooding their homes every rainy season. With the onset of monsoon, the situation has exacerbated, causing significant inconvenience to the community.
Accompanied by Chairman and Councillor Pratul Chakraborty, Trinamool leader Bikas Sarkar, and other, Mayor Gautam Deb toured Ward No. 24 to assess ongoing efforts by the Irrigation Department and SMC in cleaning the river, when residents voiced their frustrations directly to the mayor during his inspection.
We empathise with the residents, but the municipal Corporation should also investigate to find out how many are legal owners of the land and Or if they are sqatters.
The Corporation must not issue any building permits on lands that are close to rivers beds.