A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district cleaned a choked sewer in his area and alleged that he complained several times but the municipal corporation did not act on it.
Councillor from Ward 15, Devendra Rathore cleaned the sewer located in Birla Nagar in the city on Tuesday. A video of the incident also went viral on social media. Later, the municipal corporation team reached the spot and cleaned it. The team continued the cleaning activity on Wednesday as well.
"There was a big sewer problem in ward number 15 and dirty water was flooding inside the houses of residents. People were facing a lot of foul smell and the matter was also brought before the council but no one paid attention to it. After this, I told the Commissioner, also requested the Mayor and raised the matter in the Council but the issue was unheard of. After that I realised I would have to solve this matter myself," Rathore told ANI.
"People have given me the vote and I must value their vote, therefore, I cleaned the sewer as no one was listening and people are facing issues. After I did the cleaning, the Municipal Corporation employees also came and started cleaning," he added.
He further said that when he went for an inspection in his area, the municipal commissioner called him and said he shouldn't go anywhere and neither talk to officials as the Model Code of Conduct was in force.
"The commissioner told me that I should neither go anywhere nor talk to officials as the Model Code of Conduct is in force so what option do I have? The only solution I had, I went into the sewer and cleaned it," he added.
Councillor Rathore also took a potshot at Mayor Sobha Sikarwar saying the municipal corporation was under the Congress and the Congress Mayor remained silent.
"The municipality here is under Congress. We have the government in the state but here we are working under the Congress' mayor Sobha Sikarwar but she remains silent," he added.
Nonetheless, Additional Commissioner of Gwalior Municipal Corporation, Munish Singh Sikarwar said that wherever sewer-related problems arose, they were resolved immediately.
"Wherever sewer-related problems arise, they are being resolved immediately. In that ward too, work was being done by the Municipal Corporation next to the sewer. If such information was received, it would also have been resolved," Sikarwar said.