Our corporator is a mafia man | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Our corporator is a mafia man

Oct 06, 2006 12:07 AM IST

IT IS one of the biggest wards in the city, comprising areas like Alok Nagar, Yogi Nagar, Vigayn Vihar, Adarsh puram, Shivpuram, Gayatri Puram, Hardoi Nagar, Ekta puram, Keshav Vihar, part of Ahibaranpur, Chanakyapuri and Tulsipuram.

IT IS one of the biggest wards in the city, comprising areas like Alok Nagar, Yogi Nagar, Vigayn Vihar, Adarsh puram, Shivpuram, Gayatri Puram, Hardoi Nagar, Ekta puram, Keshav Vihar, part of Ahibaranpur, Chanakyapuri and Tulsipuram.

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HT Image

The ward is also famous for encroachments by a mafia-turned-politician of the ruling party who has encroached a park adjacent to a school run by him. There is a silent wave of anger among residents because of bad roads and encroachments on parks. Residents give only 6 marks to the ward out of 10.

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Encroachment, poor security, water-scarcity and substandard construction of roads resulted in the negative marking. RK Srivastava, a resident of this ward, says, “We had a beautiful park that has been encroached by the local mafia.

Authorities have failed to protect the parks and roads from encroachment.

Roads are in a poor state due to substandard material used by the contractor.

We feel insecure due to presence of mafia in the locality.”

Resident of the ward, Savitri, laments, “You must be aware of the Ashiana rape case. The culprits belonged to this locality. So how could women feel themselves safe here? Ram Avtar Awasthi says, “We face acute shortage of water in our colony. We get only one hour supply in the morning and for half an hour in the evening. We approached the authorities but nothing has been done.

Corporator Dev Sharma Mishra alias Munna Mishra refutes all these charges. He says, “I have brought about a wave of development in the area. Name any place and you would find good roads there. No colony is without proper drains. Water logging is not due to ‘absence’ of drains but due to encroachments on them by the residents.”  Regarding encroachment on the park by a local mafia, he says, “You know the mafia is a blue-eyed boy of the chief minister. He  forged papers and occupied the park with the help of the administration, but I have made it an election issue as the nephew of the mafia is contesting against me. I will remove encroachments from the park but for that, I need public support.”

About renting parks for marriages and other functions, he said, “I have never rented out any park. Instead, I have developed five parks and fought to retrieve the encroached parks from the clutches of the mafia. During my tenure, I have laid down 35 kilometers of water pipe line and constructed a water tank to fulfill the water requirements of the residents.”

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Anupam Srivastava is a Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times, Lucknow. Has produced exclusive stories in medical, civil aviation, civic, political and other issues for over 20 years.

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