Amitava Banerjee, MP, 30 May 2024, Darjeeling: Amid the tourist rush, Darjeeling woke up to garbage spill over on Thursday as the conservancy staff of the Darjeeling Municipality called for an indefinite cease work over the alleged assault on a staff by a vegetable vendor.
However, normalcy returned in the evening following the arrest of the accused. The town wore a filthy look on Thursday morning, with garbage strewn on the roads and the vats overflowing. Even the Mall wore a dirty look.
“We were collecting garbage from the shops at the Chowk Bazar on Wednesday evening. Despite nearly more than an hour having passed since we had been collecting garbage, I noticed a vegetable vendor not emptying his garbage bin in the conservancy vehicle,” stated Milan Sarki, driver of the vehicle.
Sarki then approached Narayan Prasad Gupta, the vegetable vendor, asking him to empty his garbage bin. Gupta stated that he would do so in the evening in the vat.
“I told him that he should not empty it in the vat but in the vehicle. I told him that if he didn’t want to, he should keep the bin inside his shop and not on the road causing public inconvenience. I then placed his garbage bin inside his shop and he started assaulting me and even tore my shirt,” alleged Sarki.
Following this, the conservancy staff lodged an FIR against Gupta at the Darjeeling Sadar Police Station and allied for an indefinite cease work till the accused was punished.
“As per the FIR, Narayan Prasad Gupta has been arrested,” stated Shubhra Sanyal, Inspector-in-Charge, Darjeeling Sadar Police Station. Gupta has been charged under sections 341, 323, 353 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
They have been working relentlessly round-the-clock collecting garbage and keeping the town clean. Everyday around 90 metric tons of waste is generated. It is a back-breaking task. We have even pressed commercial vehicles to collect the waste. The public will also have to abide by the rules and dump the garbage as per the specified timing.
We request the conservancy staff to withdraw their cease work as the accused has been arrested and law will take its course,” stated Dipen Thakuri, chairman, Darjeeling Municipality. “We are hereby lifting the cease work as action has been taken as per the law. We do not want to inconvenience the public,” added Sarki.
The Municipality has specifically mentioned that garbage has to be disposed between 7 pm and 5 am in the designated areas. Violators will face fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1000. Committees have been formed to monitor this.
https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/indefinite-cease-work-by-conservancy-staff-of-darjeeling-municipality-lifted-565971