Biswanath’s ward 11 exposes development gaps: No toilets, no water, no homes

Biswanath Chariali, July 4: In the heart of Biswanath district, a short distance away from key government offices like the DC office, revenue circle office, lies Ward No. 11 — an area whose abysmal living conditions expose the gap between the claims of development and ground reality.

This ward, part of the Bishwanath Chariali municipality, is home to some of the district’s most deprived families. Residents here live without basic facilities that any urban local body is mandated to provide.

For most families, access to clean drinking water and sanitation remains a distant dream.

“There are no facilities here. We don’t even have proper houses. So many people have received government homes under various schemes, but we are still living in makeshift shelters,” said one local resident.

“This is Kalyanpur, Ward No. 11. The government says they are providing water under JJM, but the taps run dry most of the year. Sometimes, we get water once a year, that’s it. We have to rely on the pump well, and for sanitation, we have no choice but to go to the nearby jungles and tea gardens”, she added.

Another elderly resident shared her ordeal: “I have to relieve myself behind the house. Often, we go to the tea gardens, but the garden owners chase us away.”

Ironically, the ward is also home to important institutions like Biswanath College, a B.Ed college, agriculture offices, and other district-level offices. Yet the plight of the local residents remains invisible to the authorities.

According to locals, the urban water supply scheme covers only around 625 houses out of nearly 4,000 under the municipality. In Ward 11, water supply has gone from bad to worse, what was earlier a twice-a-day supply has been reduced to once due to a machinery breakdown.

“There is no respect for the people living here,” said Dinesh Nayak, State leader of CPI (M).

“The town committee and municipal board have failed in their duty to provide basic amenities. The environment here is so unhealthy that people, especially children, are at constant risk. There is only one public toilet for more than 50 families, it’s always overcrowded, and fights break out daily. Many just don’t use it and continue to defecate in the open. The MLA and municipal leaders should not come here only to collect votes. They should sit with the people, understand their problems, and work to uplift their living standards. It’s shameful that people living next to the DC’s office have to defecate in tea gardens", Nayak added.

The residents also allege that their ward member rarely visits the area, leaving them with no platform to voice their grievances.

“All we have is a ration card. That’s what keeps us alive,” one woman said. Many residents survive doing odd jobs in tea gardens or as daily wage workers, earning just enough for a meal a day.

The people of Ward No. 11 are now appealing to the authorities to ensure access to clean drinking water, functional public toilets, and government-provided housing.