KMC chalks out plan to develop Hatgachia model bustee as an 'ideal' one

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has made up a comprehensive plan to develop its model bustee at Hatgachia in Dhapa area as an 'ideal' one. The civic body will give a fresh coat of paint to the houses in the slum situated adjacent to the road and will then adorn it with paintings of freedom fighters and other great men who has made the state proud. The paintings will also have short messages of the famous personalities.

"Our aim is to curb the tendency of littering the walls of the houses in the slum. When there will be such paintings, people will hesitate to spit or make the walls dirty. This will prevent visual pollution which is a common sight, particularly in the slums," a senior official of the Bustee Development department of KMC said.

"The slum dwellers, particularly the young ones, lack moral values. And for developing a model slum, it is important to instill such values within them. We are hopeful that this act will be a step in that direction," said Swapan Samaddar, Member, Mayor-in-Council (Bustee Development).

It may be mentioned that Hatgachia bustee has already been developed as a model slum and finishing touches are now being given. The slum has a children's park, community hall, primary school, health centre and playground. The department has also taken up initiatives for social awareness to uplift the lifestyle of slum dwellers.

"We are holding camps in the bustees where officials from our department will interact with the slum dwellers. The programme will be taken up in all the 16 boroughs of KMC, with the aim to educate them about cleanliness, hygiene and similar other practices," the official added.

Celebrities from the field of sports, entertainment and literature are being roped in for conducting such programmes successfully.

It may be mentioned that KMC has planned to develop nine slums in the city into 'model slums', to ensure that people in these areas get the basic civic amenities.

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