Kapurthala, September 23
Contrary to tall promises usually made by politicians belonging to all political parties during elections of all-round development of their respective areas, even basic facilities like proper sewerage and drainage system have not been provided in several localities of the city.

Nearly one-fourth of the total localities falling under the jurisdiction of the Kapurthala municipal council (MC) are without any sewer. In other words, no sewer has been laid so far in about 13.7 sq km area of the total 55 sq km area covered by the MC.

A local SAD leader, Harbans Singh Walia, who contested recent MC elections from ward eight, told The Tribune that most of the localities falling under his ward and adjoining ward (number seven) were without sewers.

Some of the localities were Moti Bagh Colony, Punjabi Bagh Colony, Mansoorwal, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Green Park, Peer road and Guru Hargobind Nagar, he said, adding that the sewer laid in Urban Estate, developed by PUDA, was also yet not joined with that of the MC. Nearly 15,000 residents of the localities were forced to live in hellish conditions in the absence of any sewer.

Walia claims that the local bodies department has released after his pursuing the matter Rs 1.6 crore for laying sewer in the localities.

Besides sewage, rainwater accumulates for several hours due to improper drainage system in several localities, including Amrit Bazar, Shergarh Mohalla, Arafwala Mohalla, Kotuwala Bazar, Sukhjit Nagar, Kaimpura Mohalla, Mall road and areas around bus stand.

A local BJP leader, Dharampal Mahajan, who contested recent MC elections from ward 21, says narrow sewer pipes and no proper de-siltation of sewerage cause accumulation of several feet water during rainy season in and around Arafwala Mohalla, Shergarh Mohalla, Amrit Bazar and Kotuwala Bazar.

Similarly, two prominent shopkeepers of Amrit Bazar, Prakash Bathla and Dharamvir Bobby, say water enters into several shops and houses located in Amrit Bazar and surrounding areas during rainy season.

Mahajan, Bathla and Bobby further demands that narrow sewer pipes in these areas should be replaced with broad pipes and the nullah flowing from Kotuwala chowk to sewerage treatment plant be cleaned at regular interval.

Harjit Singh Bhatia of the Sukhjit Nagar locality says sewer in his locality remains choked, especially during rains, due to lack of proper de-siltation.

Jalandhar, September 23
More than 19 months ever since the Jalandhar Improvement Trust was dissolved, the local body that has otherwise given 53 well-planned schemes to the city is lying almost defunct.

In the absence of a regular chairman, no new city areas are being developed giving the property dealers on the outer areas of the city a full advantage of acquiring huge chunks of land and reaping the maximum benefit. The lackadaisical attitude of the state government in reconstituting the board is also resulting in the haphazard growth on the city’s peripheries.

Ever since Tejinder Singh Bittu, a Congress leader and former chairman of the JIT, stepped out prior to the assembly elections, no new chairman has been appointed. Various administrative officers have been handling the affairs taking an additional charge.

A.K. Sikka, who is additional chief administrator of the JDA and PUDA, took over as the JIT administrator last month ever since Vinay Bublani, who was then serving as JIT administrator-cum-deputy director, local bodies, was appointed as MC commissioner. Prior to that, Sarojini Gautam Sharda, now PTU registrar, has also served as the JIT administrator-cum-DDLB.

With hardly any signs of a move in this direction in the political circles, the appointment of a regular chairman is likely to get delayed beyond the parliamentary elections, insiders have revealed.

Officials tell that almost all posh city areas, including Lajpat Nagar, Jawahar Nagar, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, Mota Singh Nagar, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Master Tara Singh Nagar, Gujral Nagar, Partap Bagh, Defence Colony, Adarsh Nagar, JP Nagar, Bhagat Singh Nagar, Basti Guzan, Kirti Nagar and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Nagar, were developed by the JIT and later transferred to the municipal corporation for maintenance. More than 41 such schemes planned, executed and developed by the JIT have been handed over to the MC till date.

Nearly 12 schemes that have been developed recently or are in process of completion are still with the JIT. These include Guru Gobind Singh Avenue, Surya Enclave and the more recently developed Maharaja Ranjit Singh Avenue along the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway across Chogitti. There are other in-hand schemes including BSF Colony, Rishi Nagar, near GTB Nagar, LIG flats in Master Gurbanta Singh scheme, HIG flats in Gazi Gullah and super-deluxe Sri Ram Vatika flats.

Administrator A.K. Sikka and executive officer Jawahar Lal Sivia said they were carrying forward the ongoing schemes as no new schemes could be planned till the appointment of a new chairman.

Jalandhar, September 23
Constructing a dream house in Punjab has become more costlier due to a steep hike in the prices of bricks, which brick-kiln owners attributed to a steep hike in the prices of raw material, including coal and mud, in the recent past.

“The prices of raw material used for manufacturing bricks such as mud and coal have been increased which led to the increase in the cost of production,” Ashok Mittal, vice-president of the Punjab Bricks Manufacturers Association, said, adding that an increase of 25 per cent had also been registered in the cost of labour.

He revealed that at present the market price of bricks was Rs 2,800 per 1,000 bricks and if the situation would not change then the customer would have to cough up Rs 3,000 for 1,000 bricks in the future.

The price of mud, which used to be Rs 2 lakh per acre, was now increased to Rs 4 lakh and the price of coal, which was Rs 5,500 per tonne, was now Rs 11,000, he claimed, demanding that if the government did not pay any heed to control the hike in the prices of raw material, then in the next season, they would be forced to hike the price of bricks up .to Rs 3,500 for 1,000 bricks. — PTI 

Jalandhar, September 23
Alarmed at the growing menace of substance abuse in the state, senior Congress leader Tejinder Singh Bittu would submit a detailed report of the “critical” ground situation to AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, urging him to motivate youth Congress members to launch a massive campaign against drugs in the state.

"I have made a detailed report on the problem of drugs along with some suggestions to curb the menace and the same will be handed over to Rahul Gandhi when he meets a delegation of the Central constituency during his visit to Jalandhar tomorrow", he added.

Terming Rahul’s visit as “historic and a grand success", Bittu said by visiting the Golden Temple, as a humble devotee, he has won the hearts of Sikhs and the kind of response he got during his visit indicates that Congress would make a clean sweep in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

He said the youths of Punjab were caught in drugs quagmire. "Frequent big hauls of heroin and other narcotics by different agencies point towards the fact. It also means that the demand for drugs have increased manifold and the situation would spiral out of control if immediate steps are not taken with full political will and determination," he pointed out.

It was good that membership drive of the youth Congress was being conducted in a transparent manner, but at the same time the party should encourage the new members to play an effective role by making a list of addicts in his area and help them reform, he added.

Also, de-addiction seminars should be organised in every school and college by NSUI and the youth. The senior Congress leader also added that sports clubs should be established in every village to channelise the energies of the youth. 

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