Several Nashik citizens are planning to boycott coming state assembly elections and municipal corporation elections to mark their protests against Municipal Corporations and district authorities’ inefficiency to control and solve the problems facing by the citizen in various fields. Several illegal constructions are growing in different places in Nashik City and NMC is not giving any attention to nip in the bid of these illegal built up areas in the initial stages.

The problems facing by the citizen are many!!! Some are here:

No timely arrival of Ghantagadis. To pick up wastes, NMC started Ghantaghadis on all wards, but these vehicles are not coming in time and pick up the wastes in several places. Pieces of plastic bags and wastes can see everywhere in the city and NMC cleanliness department have to ensure that city limits are to be extremely clean, especially the growing fear of epidemics such as swine flu type of illness spreading everywhere.

No cleanliness in public toilets: In ST and Railway premises number of public toilets and washing places are there. But its cleanliness is also very poor and authorities should take proper steps to clean these public places frequently,

No timely receiving of water bills. Water Bills are not distributing by NMC water department and in some areas, it arrives at the owners of societies and residential owners after more than six months to twelve months. It creates problems for the citizen and when they gets bill for 12 months at a time, they are unable to pay the bill amount in time because the bill amounts of 12 months are little higher than one can expects.

No control of overloads in passenger vehicles particularly in auto rickshaws and improper parking arrangements of autorikshwas in city limits: Even after some kind of actions taken by the RTO and District Authorities, to mend the smooth operation of vehicular and passenger traffic in city limits, they are unable to control overload and improper parking of Auto Rickshaws, the main passenger mode of the citizen after City Bus Service. Overloading are common and it should be strictly prohibited and licenses of vehicle owners to be forfeited for the repeated offences of these types and heavy penalties to be imposed from the drivers of these vehicles and the passengers who are sitting in front seats of the Auto Rickshaws.

Not demolishing illegal built up areas constructed by number of shop owners in the residential cum commercial complexes and not sealing the shops that are doing polluted works in residential cum commercial buildings, particularly noise pollution. Recently one workshop was arranged in Nashik at Parshuram Saikhedkar Hall which was initiated by Adv. Vilas Deshmane. In this workshop, main Chief Guests were Commissioner of Police, Mr. Vishnudeo Mishra, Mr. J H Patil, Regional Officer, Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board, ENT Specialist Dr. Shabbir Indorewala, DCP Subhash Nilewad and Additional Superintendent Vijay. Mr. Vishnudeo Mishra, Commissioner stressed on the awareness with regard to sound pollution and the stops that should be taken in the interest of the society. Commissioner decided on selecting silent zones in the city, where unnecessary sound pollution would be banned. Large number of people attended in this workshop which was crippled in the minds of sound polluters across the city. Adv. Deshmane specifically pointed out in this workshop that large number of sound polluted units has come up in the residential areas which include some drilling and metal cutting workshops in the name of shops which are creating problems for the citizen residing in the area.

NMC and various sanctioning authorities and MPCB do not check these units periodically and ask them to close their operations. Ward Members can effectively put a stop all types of illegal constructions and polluted and industrial types of activities running their respective wards. . However, citizens are complaining that inspite of specific written and repeated complaints given to the various authorities such as MPCB, NMC, Corporators, and District Collector – still some shops are doing their operations in full swing. Even though people do not need to press a written complaint if NMC officials are checking the activities of all the shops in their limits, but it seems that officials have no time to check it.

Some sound polluted units are also spitting ashes into the streets and the nearby residential buildings, which creates health hazardous problems for the citizen living in the area. Already complaints have registered with NMC and various authorities for different units operating in and around Nasik City and Nashik Road areas and citizen are still expecting to get the results as these units are still operating inspite of NMC’s intervention.

No Pick Up Sheds and Bus Stop Boards in Nashik City: Common citizen are still using city bus service as their main passenger mode. But people who are traveling in the city buses are facing strange problems here in Nashik City. Except in some main areas, no pick up sheds have been constructed by the NMC or any authorities in both sides of the city roads and even though number of city bus stops are there, citizen cannot see any Bus Stops Boards in any parts of the city. Nashik is an international famous city and daily hundreds of people are coming and going from all parts of the world including in the state, but they are not able to find out proper bus stops to travel to the particular place and no pick up sheds are available in any stops which is very bad. NMC has to take immediate actions to construct pick up sheds on all bus stops for both sides in the city limits and put Bus Stops Boards with the help of NGOs and Political and Youth Organizations. NMC should also invite sponsorships for constructing pick up sheds in all parts of the city from various entrepreneurs and eminent industrialists so that NMC do not incur its expenditure from their budget. It is an essential thing and it should be done immediately. By doing this, City Transport Authorities are to ensure that all the buses are to stopped in every bus stop and take the passengers as some drivers are in the habit of not stopping the vehicles in stops or not taking the passengers from some stops even though there is enough space in the buses.

Overload in Trucks and Containers: It is becoming a habit of lorry and truck owners to carry overload in city limits and it seems that RTO and NMC Octroi Authorities are keeping silence on this issue. Thousands of containers, trucks, dumpers and tippers are running in the city limits and ninety percent of them are overloaded and no action is taking place inspite of prohibition of overloading and Hon’ble Supreme Courts Order delivered against writ petition 9 (c) No. 136 of 2003 delivered in 9th Nov. 2005. Industries and Truck Owners are to be strictly obeyed by the Supreme Court Order, but they are knowingly rejects the law and overloading the vehicles from the industrial premises. It can be dangerous for both the lives and properties of the drivers and citizen and NMC and District Authorities should take immediate steps to stop it and ask the truck owners and industries to abide the laws of the land.

People of different walks of life residing in the Nashik City are expressed their grave concern on all the above issues and other various day to day problems they are facing. Citizen wants better functioning of NMC and district authorities. Since general state assembly election is fast approaching, people have taken a stand in front of the ward and political leadership as well as district and municipal authorities to solve their problems which they can as per the legal frame work of the constitution and give better and peaceful life to the citizen and if they are unable to do so, citizen have no other option but to boycott the election enmasse or caste their votes as none candidates are not eligible!!!