Hooghly, January 12 (HS): After Rishra's name appeared in the list of the 10 dirtiest cities of the country in the Central Government's ''Swachhta Survekshan Survey 2023'', the residents of Rishra and especially the leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party are critical of the working style of the municipality. Locals are asking questions as to when Rishra Municipality will take the problem of pollution seriously.

Poonam Srivastava, resident of Rishra and vice president of Dr. Vishweshwar Dayal Foundation, said, ''There is a shortage of dustbins in Rishra. There is a lot of smoke towards Maitri Path area which causes a lot of trouble. I thought many times about going to the Chairman and complaining but till now I have not been able to approach him.

As a resident of Rishra city, I am feeling very embarrassed after seeing the name of Rishra in the list of 10 dirtiest cities of the country in the ''Swachhta Survekshan Survey 2023'' of the Central Government.

West Bengal State spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Hari Mishra said, ''I am not surprised that Rishra''s name has appeared in the list of the dirtiest cities of the country. The density of population in Rishra has increased significantly. Every evening some chemical substance is released from the phosphate factory which gives foul smell and makes breathing difficult. I don''t know what is burnt in the grounds behind the Rishra police station that in the evening the air of Rishra turns into smoke and people face trouble breathing in the open air.''

Rakesh Singh, general secretary of Serampore organizational district BJP Kisan Morcha and resident of Rishra, said, ''It is very shameful for Rishra to be named in the list of the 10 dirtiest cities of the country in the Central Government''s ''Swachhta Survekshan Survey 2023''.''

Singh said,''If anyone visits Rishra on any evening, his eyes will start burning and breathing will start getting difficult. The winds of Rishra have become suffocating due to increasing pollution. But no one pays attention to this. Attention has to be paid to this otherwise it will become a big problem for the people of Rishra.''

However, after becoming the chairman, Rishra Municipality Chairman Vijay Sagar Mishra is moving ahead with the resolution of clean and green Rishra. but no response was received from Rishra Municipality in this regard.

Hindusthan Samachar/ Priyanka /Manoj