Srinagar, Jan 14, KNT: Anticipating no help from the Corporation and at the same time feeling the heat from the people, a Ward Officer here in Srinagar city hired a JCB for snow clearance purpose and paid the owner from his own pocket.
“You will think it is exaggeration but it isn’t. The fact is the that a Ward Officer from Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) paid Rs 15,600 from his own pocket, hired a JCB for 13 hours to clear the snow from the interiors of Firdous Abad Batamaloo, Nundreshi Colony and Iqbal Abad Bemina. For one hour JCB owner charged Rs 12,00,” a responsible official from the Corporation told KNT.
“Don’t think the Corporation will pay this sum back to the said Ward Officer. First the Ward Officer has to submit a bill, then he has to wait for a year or two to get the money. The said Ward Officer decided not to get the amount spent back from the Corporation,” the official said.
When contacted the said Ward Officer declined to comment on the issue saying Almighty sees everything.
There are number of areas in Srinagar where snow has still not been cleared from the interiors. Various Ward Officers avoided rather ignored phone calls of people as SMC failed to provide them snow clearance equipments and machines.
“I am unable to face the public in my Ward as I failed to live up to their expectations. I was unable to oblige in absence of any snow clearance machinery,” said a Ward Officer. (KNT)