Cleaning/tidying work suspended
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 22 2013 :
Enraged by the refusal of Tourism Department to issue entry permits, Imphal Municipal Council (IMC) workers have suspended sweeping and tidying works at Hapta Kangjeibung, the main venue of the Sangai festival and surrounding areas.
In response to the written intimations of the Tourism Principal Secretary and the Director, IMC constituted a festival management committee and initiated necessary measures to keep Hapta Kangjeibung neat and clean, said IMC's health and sanitation chairman Ksh Umesh.
Speaking to media persons at IMC office today, Umesh said that they hired 70 labourers, two dumper pressure vehicles, 10 dumpers, one Tata Magic van and a van for cleaning and sweeping the festival venue and surrounding areas in the morning, afternoon and evening everyday.
IMC also placed dustbins at the entrance gate as well as near food stalls in order to keep the venue tidy as far as possible.
However, IMC labourers engaged for cleaning and tidying the venue were not given entry pass.
To carry out the assigned tasks, the workers had to buy a ticket of Rs 20 .
Although an application has been submitted to the Tourism Department to issue entry pass to the IMC workers, it has come to nought.
At the same time, security personnel have been prohibiting the workers from entering the main venue even though wore uniforms embossed with the words 'IMC' and 'Sangai Festival', Umesh said.
Inviting the IMC Chairperson in the name of a misnomer, not inviting IMC Councillors and removal of 10 parking lots and allotting the same to private agencies after they were first allotted to IMC were some of the awkward and conduct of the festival organisers, Umesh said.
Denouncing the conduct of Tourism Department, a memorandum has been submitted to the Chief Minister and the Principal Secretary (Tourism) today.
IMC would decide whether it should resume the assigned task of cleaning Hapta Kangjeibung and surrounding areas based on the Chief Minister's response to the memorandum.
Although daily cleaning and tidying work has been suspended at the festival venue, other activities of IMC would continue as usual, Umesh added.