Agra: Most of the residents of Noori Darwaza are dependent on handpumps for their daily requirement of water. But the journey from their house to a nearby handpump is not an easy one. “We see heaps of garbage on roadsides every day. Dirty water from blocked drainage is spilled on the road. If one has to fetch water at night, it becomes a little risky as most of the street lights are non-functional. In the day time, we have to fight monkeys on the way. And when finally we reach the handpump, either the water is not there or the pump is uprooted,” said a resident.Noori Darwaza, ward number 76, is of the most underdeveloped ward of the Agra municipal corporation and has over 9,000 voters and approximately 22,000 residents. Due to lack of facilities in the area, the residents are mulling to boycott civic polls this year.“The councillor has no interest in the development of this ward. Almost the entire area stinks as the nearby ‘petha’ manufacturing units dump the garbage on the road side. We are planning not to take part in the municipal elections until we get an assurance that our issues will be resolved,” said Dharmendra Goswami, resident of Hanuman Gali.“We are often forced to stay inside the house as the roads outside are flooded with drainage water. We have informed the councillor multiple times but no one has paid heed to our problems,” said Sanjay Goyal, resident of Panchpeer Gali.Meanwhile, independent councillor of the area, Ashok Bansal claims that they have spent Rs three crore for the development of the ward. “We have constructed roads from Raja Mandi crossing to S N Medical college, process of revamp the drainage system from Kali Badi Mandir to Rajshree Talkies is underway. The maintenance of street lights and handpumps were done by me five years ago,” Bansal said.However, the local residents said that not a single handpump of the 30 is in a working condition.

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