They told the newsmen that Mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu visited their colonies several times in last five years and assured them of providing CI sheets for the rehabilitation of the sweepers.

But this assurance was never materialised, they added.

The sweepers said their colony was established during the British period and more than 1500 people of their community have been living there in thatched houses.

Ranok Roy, a sweeper of Hatem Khan colony, said they are to suffer a lot during rainy season when rainwater penetrates into their rooms through the leak of worn-out CI sheets.

Haru Dutta, another resident of the sweeper colony, alleged that they had applied to the mayor several times for CI sheets but did not get any response from him.

Talking to newsmen, local Ward Commissioner Bilkis Banu also expressed her anguish as Minu failed to distribute relief materials among the needy and poor people.

"After being elected in 2003, I could distribute only some rice and dates donated by the corporation for distribution among the poor," she lamented.

The mayor could not be contacted for his comment.

Meanwhile, the sweepers have urged the government to allocate to them the CI sheets recovered from the houses and party offices of different political leaders in the city.

In recent days, the joint forces have recovered huge CI sheets from the houses and cow-sheds of different city BNP leaders at Rajpara, Naohata and Kantakhali.