KMC to launch campaign to improve the lives of slum dwellers

Kolkata: For the first time in the history of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), its Bustee Development department is going to organise social awareness campaign for uplifting the lifestyle of slum dwellers.

"We will organise camps in the bustees where officials from our department will interact with the bustee dwellers. This programme will be taken up in all the 16 boroughs of the KMC with the aim of educating them about cleanliness, hygiene and similar other practices. Our camps will also focus on spreading awareness about various social welfare schemes of the civic body and the government for the benefit of the slum dwellers," Member Mayor-In-Council (Bustee Development) Swapan Sammadar said.

Elaborating on how KMC will move forward with their plans, Samaddar said from April two-day workshop will be held in all boroughs across the city regarding this. "We are providing essential facilities like purified water, LED lights, smooth roads in various slums. Nine bustees are being converted to model ones. So, educating the slum dwellers on how to make proper use of all these facilities has become the need of the hour," Samaddar said.

The workshop will have programmes of awareness in the form of general knowledge, moral education, debates etc.

Celebrities from the field of sports, entertainment, literature will join this seminar and extend help to the civic body for carrying out their programme successfully.

"After holding such seminars in boroughs, we have plans to hold such camps or seminars in all the wards of the civic body," a senior official said.

Talking about the development of model bustee, Sammaddar said Hatgachia slum situated in the Dhapa area will be the first model slum. 80 percent of development work in the bustee has already been completed.

"Our basic aim is improvement in the socio-economic condition of these slums. The purpose of the concept of model bustee is to ensure basic civic amenities like drinking water, drainage system and toilet at every house and lighting facilities. However, we will create additional infrastructure, wherever there is availability of space," he said.