Dhanbad was second last with a rank of 48 in an ease of living survey conducted by the Centre among 49 cities with capital Ranchi faring marginally better with a rank of 42, prompting residents to list out the primary inadequacies as unplanned development, lack of a working sewage system and poor public transport.
Bangalore and Shimla were the top two cities in the Ease of Living Index-2020 released by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs that looked at cities with a population of more than 10 lakh.
Patron of Federation of Dhanbad Zila Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rajesh Gupta said, “Unplanned development is the main reason for poor ranking as here in Dhanbad roads have been developed first. Then, these same roads have been dug up for constructing drains and for laying cables. This led to crater-filled roads that were waterloggd during the monsoon."
“In fact, the government should have fixed the responsibility of repairing dug up roads on the contractors, but there is no such system here," he rued.
He said the best example of poor development were the multistoried apartment complexes that were allowed to come up in colonies with narow, less than 10 feet wide roads. "In case of emergencies, even a fire engine cannot get in," added Gupta, a book trader who is president of Pustak Vyavsai Sangh.
Most prominent areas of the town, like DRM Chowk, Shivam Colony near CIMFR, Bartand, Tapovan Colony, Barmasia, lacked proper sewerage systems, he also alleged.
As for public transport, Gupta pointed out that over 70 buses provided to the district under the Millenium City project of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission in 2010 were lying idle. "It is time Dhanbad Municipal Corporation learn lessons from past mistakes and run the buses efficiently," he said.
Mahurendra Singh, a social worker and former co-patron of Bartand Chamber of Commerce, added that even existing resources like dust sweeping machines, procured at a cost for Rs 2.5 crore, were lying idle. "This is a classic example of wastage of public money and mismanagement of resources," he said.
General secretary of Jharkhand Industries and Trade Association Rajiv Sharma, who is a member of Jharkhand State Pollution Board said, “How can we expect better ranking in Ease of Living Index when several localities of the town are deprived of basic facilities like drinking water?. Similar is the condition of solid waste management as garbage collected from the localities is being dumped in the heart of town at Bartand.”
