Chandigarh, Saturday, July 25, 1998
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Regional vignettes | Chandigarh, Saturday, July 25, 1998 |
    
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BATHINDA
Burgeoning
town, no amenities |
From the land of sand dunes The ancient history of Bathinda has
been traced to the Indus Valley civilisation. Certain
sites explored in the erstwhile Mansa subdivision of
Bathinda district link it to the Indus Valley
civilisation. During the Rigvedic Aryan period, Bathinda seems to have been part of ‘Saptasindhu’ (Seven waters) which became to be known as Panchanada (Five Rivers) in the Maha bharta period. Bathinda also enjoyed the efficient administration of the Mauryan and Gupta kings. There are different versions about the origin of the name of the town. According to Khalifa Mohammad Hasan’s History of Patiala, its ancient name was Bikramgarh. According to another version it was the capital of Jai Pal of Hindushahi dynasty which ruled over the Punjab during the 10th century and the first quarter of the 11th century. Tabarhindh was in all probability the old name of Bathinda. According to still another perspective, the town is said to have been named after a Rajput ruler Baini Pal and his wazir (minister) Thanda Ram. From Baini the letter ‘B’ was taken and Thanda was taken from the name of the minister. And, thus the town came to be known as Bathinda. The district of Bathinda came into existence with the formation of PEPSU in 1948. It had headquarters at Faridkot, which were shifted to Bathinda in 1953. An 1800-year-old fort, which resisted a number of attacks of the enemies, is located in the heart of the city. This historical fort, however, has started crumbling as the authorities are not anxious to preserve the relic. Built about 1800 years ago, the fort has become a constant danger for the people who are living in the localities that have developed around it. The 150-foot-high walls of the fort, known as Gobindgarh, are now posing a threat to the life and property of the people as every year some portion of the walls collapses. So far, a portion of Rani Mahal, where Razia Sultan, the first woman ruler of India, was imprisoned by the then governor of Bathinda, Mohammad Altunia, has collapsed. The north-western corner of the fort has also collapsed. Out of a total 36 bastions of the fort, 18 have collapsed so far. The roof of the wall has started caving in. The main gate of the fort can also collapse any time. This awe-inspiring relic faced many attacks in the medieval period. It was besieged in 1004 AD by Sultan Mahmud Ghazni when Bathinda was governed by the Hindushahi rulers. Muhammad Ghori attacked the fort and besieged it in 1189 when Prithvi Raj Chauhan was the ruler of the Bathinda. Prithvi Raj Chauhan recovered the fort after 13 months from Zia-ud-din, commander of Mohammad Ghori. In April, 1240, Razia Sultan was imprisoned in the fort when she went there to suppress the revolt of her governor Altunia. Razia Sultan was released from the fort in August. Raja Amar Singh, the grand- son of Ala Singh, founder of Patiala state, captured the fort from Sukhchain Singh Sabo in 1771 after a long battle. After that the fort remained in the possession of decedents of Ala Singh. The Government of India declared it a protected monument under the Preservation Act of 1904. But the monument built on 15 acres is totally neglected by the authorities concerned. The 40-foot-wide ditch which surrounds the fort and which is fed by the Sutlej river has dried up and has got filled up with mud. This place is now being used by people to throw garbage, which further invites pigs and other stray animals. The well located inside the fort has dried up too. The tunnel, which used to open on the Delhi road has been blocked. A portion of the gurdwara which was raised to mark the visit of Guru Gobind Singh in 1707 has collapsed. The town which has developed on the sand dunes around the fort houses one of the biggest cantonments of Asia. In the last three decades, the social life here has undergone a sea change. The city where the practice of taking ghunghat (Head cloth drawn well down to cover the face) was followed till about two decades ago is now playing host to more than 1000 paying guests. The teenagers and youth wearing western dresses has become common in this town which was once considered the most backward area of Punjab. From an area of sand dunes, the city has developed into a "city of lakes" as the water reservoirs of the local Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) have been used by the district administration for the purpose of boating. The city, where the education of girls was considered a matter of privilege three decades ago, now hosts a number of flower and fashion shows every year. The interaction of the city’s population with the residents of the cantonment, the National Fertilizer Limited (NFL) and Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant colonies has changed the complexion of society here. Commissioning of the first unit of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) here in 1974, initiated the era of development in the town. The progress gained momentum when the Government of India decided to have one of Asia’s biggest cantonments. A fertiliser plant of the public sector, which came up here later, put the town on the industrial map of India. With the coming up of the thermal plant, the town witnessed rapid industrialisation which, however, slowed down during the dark days of militancy. After the militancy phase got over, the industry here was unable to grow due to the "discriminatory industrial policies" of the Punjab Government framed from time to time. The military station brought about an ecological revolution as thousands of shady and ornamental saplings were plant and the wasteland of town was turned into a green belt. The 18-hole Chetak golf course, spread over 200 acres, in the cantonment is one of the largest golf courses in the country. It has been hosting international competitions every year, sponsored by big business houses of the country. The complexion of
population has become cosmopolitan. The town’s
population now comprises communities which belong to
different regions and have different cultures, languages
and customs. |
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Industrially backward still EVEN as entrepreneurs in Bathinda have toiled hard to turn this ‘dust bowl’ of Punjab into state’s ‘industrial bowl’ the town has remained industrially backward. For the last many years, there has been little progress towards the industrialisation of the town and half the plots in various industrial focal points and industrial estates have been lying vacant. Although the Central Government and the state government have decided to invest Rs 20000 crore in setting up big industries here in the next few years, that is likely to have only a partial impact on the overall industrial scenario. The district continues to get incentives of the ‘B category’ under the state’s industrial policy of 1996. At present, there is a proposal to set up an oil refinery, a cement plant and a pesticides unit in Bathinda. The growth of Bathinda into a bustling industrial town was impeded by the fact that the surrounding districts like Mansa, Muktsar Faridkot, Moga and Ferozepore have been placed in the ‘A Category’ for incentives, while the status of Bathinda continues to be that of ‘B Category’. This has led to the flight of industries from Bathinda to the neighbouring districts. The illogical placing of Bathinda in ‘B Category’ has made the Punjab’s Government move to develop this town as "Future City of Punjab" a fruitless effort. A ring of A-Category districts around Bathinda district have virtually arrested the growth of industry in the town. Industrialists here feel that the successive governments of the state took the "political" criterion into account while placing Bathinda in ‘B Category’ rather than taking into consideration the conducive atmosphere here for the industries to flourish. They say that though Bathinda produces 21 per cent of the total cotton produced in the state and has one of the biggest railway junctions, it is industrially backward even after 50 years of Independence. Another reason for the industrial backwardness is that the units for processing agriculture products and wastes were barred from enjoying any incentives under the successive industrial policies. The ancillary units of the National Fertiliser Plant (NFL) could not be set up here due to the absence of pre-eminent engineering industries in this backward district. In the last two years, no medium or large-scale industry has been set up here, while investment in the small-scale units is also not up to the mark. Though the Government of India has set up an industrial growth centre here, it’s doubted whether the area will develop as no special incentives have been given to those entrepreneurs who want to set up their units in this growth centre. About 392 developed industrial plots in this growth centre are lying vacant. The state government has spent crores of rupees to develop this growth centre. Industrialists feel that the growth centre could develop if the state government raised the category status of Bathinda on a par with the surrounding districts. They say with the coming up of the oil refinery, the growth centre could give a boost to ancillary units. Though the town was declared the "Textile city of Punjab" by the previous Congress Government and hoardings in this regard were put up in every nook and corner of the town, no textile or spinning industry has come into existence for the past five years. Apart from this, the vegetable oil industry, which had been established here since long, has closed operations recently due to the large difference between the incentives offered here and in the border area. The cotton growers of this area are sore over the fact that not many textile and spinning units have come up. In the absence of sufficient textile and spinning units, the cotton growers have to make "distress sale" of "white gold" every year. Industrialists here say that Bathinda, which witnessed rapid industrialistation after the setting up of thermal plant here in 1969, would now face ‘de-industrialisation’ due to the defective industrial policy of the state government framed from time to time. To the industrialists there is a lot of scope for putting up industrial units for manufacturing improved agricultural implements and machines, autoparts, springs, containers, PVC pipes, hand tools, steel furniture, geysers, desert coolers and other electrical appliances, electric motors, centrifugal pumps, fans, poultry feed, wooden cartons and foot wear. They feel that it is not wise of the state government to create infrastructure at Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepore by spending crores of rupees and not using the existing infrastructure at Bathinda already created by the state government by spending crores of rupees. Bathinda is well connected by road and railway network and has sufficient skilled and unskilled labour, power, water, land and banking and telecom facilities. Bathinda will have ample scope for big industries if the state government provides ‘A Category’ incentives to the district, they add. — CP |
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Eminent persons of Bathinda
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Burgeoning town, no amenities KNOWN as the heartland of the Malwa region, this burgeoning town lacks civic amenities even 50 years after Independence of the country.
More than 50 per cent of the population of the town is deprived of drinking water, sewerage and streetlight facilities even though the town was declared ‘City of Textiles’ ‘Sharjaha of Punjab’ and ‘Future City of Punjab’ time and again by political dignitaries.
With the coming up of one of the biggest cantonments of Asia, National Fertiliser Plant, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, vegetable oil units and a number of ginning and spinning mills, the complexion of the town’s population has changed fast. On the other hand, the problems too have increased manifold. The massive inflow of population has resulted in the unplanned and haphazard growth of the town. Only 15 schemes of town planning have been sanctioned by the state government. The chaos has led to the development of slums in the town. Choked sewers is another problem of the town. The work of laying underground sewers in the town was taken up in 1963-64. In the last 35 years, only 45 per cent of the population of the city could be provided the sewerage facility. In certain localities, there is no provision for the disposal of sewage. According to an estimate, about Rs 40 crore is needed to provide sewerage to the entire town. Besides defective sewerage, no storm water drain exists in the city. As the town has developed on sand dunes and no plinth level has been fixed for the construction of buildings by the authorities concerned, the rain water accumulates in the depressions. No efforts have been made so far by the authorities to construct a storm water drain to remove water from low lying pockets. The condition of the interior roads of the town is no better. Though the main roads passing through the town have been relaid recently, the inner streets have potholes and some of them have not even been metalled as yet. According to Municipal Council sources, every year the roads of Ganesha Basti, Deep Nagar, Aggarwal Colony, Power House area, Goniana Road area, Guru Nanak Pura, Paras Ram Nagar and the Civil Lines area get damaged due to stagnant rain water. The Municipal Council has expressed its limitations for repairing the 110 -km-long network of roads in the town frequently. Some of the roads in the town have also been damaged by the repeated digging by the sewerage board and Telecom Department. The town is also facing the problem of chaotic traffic. The roads have irregular widths causing traffic bottlenecks and deadends. Narrow streets in the old town causes traffic hazard to incoming and outgoing vehicles. Traffic generally remain blocked at Mehna Chowk, Court Road, Arya Samaj Chowk, Sirki Bazar, Kikar Bazar, Dhobi Bazar MHR School and the bus stand. As the main bazars of the city do not have any parking space, the vehicles which are generally parked on the roadside are a hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic. The majority of the municipal parks in the city are in a bad shape. There are 52 municipal parks in the city and about Rs 19 lakh have been spent on their maintenance and upkeep. But stray animals, found in most of the parks, have sullied the gardens. The parks are also being used by the residents for dumping garbage. Successive state governments have done little to develop the educational facilities. Though the students of this town have been excelling in competitions for the last five years, the state government has not considered the demand of residents for opening professional colleges here. At present there is an engineering college, and regional centre of Punjabi University, Patiala, in the town. The town needs a B.Ed college, a medical college and an institution offering job-oriented courses. Though the town has expanded in all directions, no local bus service has been introduced in the city. The bus stand, situated in the heart of town, needs to be shifted to some spacious place. Stray cows, pigs and dogs roam freely in the city. They are even found in the Civil Hospital compound, railway station and the bus stand. Apart from being a health hazard, the stray animals cause minor accidents too. Health services in Bathinda town need to be improved. Though there is a civil hospital with a capacity of 100 beds, number of government dispensaries, private hospitals, facilities for accident victims and other seriously ill patients are lacking. Critically ill patients are generally referred to big hospitals in Ludhiana and Chandigarh. The residents of trans-railway colonies face a lot of problems and there is no bridge over the railway level crossing on the Paras Ram Nagar side. At present, one-third of the population of the town lives in the trans-railway colonies but the authorities have failed to develop the educational and medical facilities in this area so far. If the authorities do not take corrective measures the town which is known as ‘City of Lakes’ will soon become the dirtiest place in Punjab. — CP |
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Developed around the 1800-year-old
Gobindgarh Fort, Bathinda has expanded very fast. Its
population has crossed two lakh but the authorities
concerned have not been able to provide civic amenities
in proportion to the town’s expansion.