Latur is a fast growing city in south central Maharashtra. But has it’s own problems and issues which needs attention. Every issue can’t be solved with NGO’s and government help is required to make this possible.
Let’s focus on the main issues which Latur faces today..
- Water
One of the primary issues which Latur residents face is Water! This might sound odd as “Water” is a basic necessity and still it’s an issue in Latur for last two decades. Two decades is a lot of time to solve an issue like this. Has the water Lobby in Latur become so big that it can influence something so basic like “providing drinking water to it’s residents”. There has been always talk about this project or that project or of connecting rivers and creating new pipelines to bring water but there has been no substantial progress on the ground.
2. Airport
Latur has a decent airport but no flights. The flights are reserved for politicians only. A decade back flights were started from Nanded-Latur to Mumbai and back. But it was discontinued soon. If Latur has to keep the growth of development intact, then flights needs to be restarted to important places like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Nagpur.
3. Cleanliness
Latur was ranked one of the clean cities in India but this ranking was an absolute farce, completely untrue and manipulated. If one visits Latur, one can easily find lot of unclean places including improper waste management at places. Garbage collection is done but at most of the places the frequency is not adequate. There are places where garbages are dumped by residents in the city itself.
4. Pollution & Traffic
There has been no concrete efforts to control the traffic in the city and regulate it in a better way. The issue is mainly due to the quantity of two wheelers and three wheelers plying the roads in Latur. Greater effort is required to push electric vehicle sales and plan smooth traffic movement.
5. Vande Bharat
It’s an irony that the place where the factory to manufacture Vande Bharat coaches is situated does not have a Vande Bharat train service. Government should seriously consider starting a Hyderabad Mumbai train via Latur which can help the city grow at a much faster rate.
6. Large Green Belt
Latur will grow fast and will need more oxygen to survive. More and more green spots (small forests) are required around the city. Most of the tree plantations in the city is carried out by NGO’. Even though the government assist them the charities like the volunteers of Green Latur Vruksha has done a lot tof work to increase the green coverage. This is one of the biggest people’s movement in Latur and has enabled to city to reduce the temperature by around 2 degree Celsius. However, more large green areas are required and the government should plan about it in advance.
7. Parks
Latur doesn’t have many parks which are popular. Some of them have got converted into paid amusement parks and require payment of charges for entry. There is need for large newer parks in Latur which can also play a role in increasing the green coverage of the city.
8. Incentives for new Industries
Latur should be developed as a business and industry center. Even though much work has been done regarding this in the past with Latur MIDC zone divided into three zones, a lot can de done. Less water intensive businesses like the IT industry should be promoted in Latur by giving special economic zone status. Latur has a culture of food joints and can be developed on the lines of Pune so that it becomes a major IT hub.
Please keep commenting in the section below, so that I can add more items to this list above.
Leave a Reply