Mussoorie-Queen of Hills becoming ‘Queen of Ills’

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MUSSOORIE, 19 Feb: 

The tourist town of Mussoorie is bleeding owing to the deteriorating condition of its infrastructure, whether it be electricity poles or the water tanks at various places in the town, leading to anger among the original inhabitants. ‘Newcomers - so called locals of Mussoorie - do not have time for the town, which has been in a critical condition since the 80’s, environmentally. To make matters worse, the callous attitude of the administration - be it the Jal Sansthan or MDDA - converted the town into a junk yard. According to the lower middle class of Mussoorie, MDDA has turned into an institution just for harassment of the poor and usurping money from the rich builders. The real job for which the MDDA was created was to develop the town, but the condition of the streetlights, which are in broken shape all over the town, indicated a different story and authenticated the allegation made by the residents.
The water taps at the tanks donated by good Samaritans are non-functional, and the lack of water has resulted in theft of the taps. The electricity poles on the way to LBSNAA are in a shambles with some of them dangerously corroded. Some poles do not have bulbs in them and are not working order. To top that, some signboards have been given connection from the street poles directly, thus benefiting hotel owners and making a dent in the taxpayers’ money. 
According to the residents of the area, Board Members are busy lining up at the office of the PWD and busy helping the contractors’ near and dear ones obtain contracts at the Palika. 
Ramesh, a worker at the Academy, said that they had been fooled this time, but in future elections these members would have a tough time getting re-elected. The discarded debris of construction work was being dumped at any empty place by the builders and governance had been left in the hand of the Gods.
Manmohan Singh Mall, Congress State Organisation Secretary, said that the government had no control over the bureaucracy and even the allies of the BJP were feeling suffocated. He also claimed that under the Congress regime, the governance was of highest quality.