Amritsar, June 9
The administration and the police has deputed 4,200 cops and assigned polling stations to 3,800 government employees to conduct the MC polls tomorrow. They were asked to reach their polling stations by the evening today. As many as 369 candidates are in the fray for 64 wards which go to the polls tomorrow.

Though all the wards have been declared sensitive by the police, but 10 wards have been declared hypersensitive. A special team headed by an Inspector- rank officer has been deputed to conduct elections in a peaceful manner. “We have some reports from the intelligence wing about 8-10 wards where violence is likely. So we have taken extra precautions in these wards. A police team headed by an Inspector-rank officer has been deputed in each ward for conducting peaceful elections,” said Mittal.

He said over 4,200 policemen, including six companies of armed battalions and remaining from the district police have been deputed in the city. The wards have been divided into six zones and each zone will be looked after by an ACP-rank official. These officials will be flanked by a team headed by an Inspector-rank official, he said.

About the pre-poll violence and protests in several parts of the city, he said adequate arrangements have been made and nobody will be allowed to indulge in violence in any part of the city.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-district election officer, Rajat Agarwal, said elaborate arrangements to conduct free and fair elections in the city have been made. He said 760 polling booths have been established in 65 wards for which 760 presiding officers and as many alternative presiding officers besides 2,280 polling officers have been deputed. The polling teams were dispatched to the respective polling stations by six returning officers appointed for the civic polls today. He said no one will be allowed to disturb the polls.

Amritsar, June 9
All eyes are on who will occupy the hot seat of the Mayor after the MC poll results are out. More than the final outcome, residents are talking about the race for the Mayor's seat which is being keenly contested between the allied partners of SAD and the BJP.

In the 36-year history of the municipal committee of Amritsar, which came into being in 1976, it is for the first time that the SAD is dreaming of having its own Mayor. The BJP too is in no mood to forego its claim on the coveted post easily. Both the SAD and the BJP camps are aggressively trying to grab maximum vote share.

Out of a total of 65 wards, the BJP has fielded its candidates from 38 seats while the SAD is contesting from 27 seats. In wards 14 and 53, both the parties have pitted their candidates against each other. The fierce intensity for the ambitious post has led to some bitterness between the alliance partners. Even as the SAD had managed to convince the Congress candidate Narinder Tung who snapped his 25-year-old ties with the Congress to withdraw the candidature of his wife Paramjeet Kaur in favour of the ruling alliance, yet little efforts were made to withdraw the candidates of either side to declare these two seats unopposed.

The BJP state president Ashwani Kumar, during his recent visit to the city, had claimed that the Mayor's seat will go to the BJP candidate only. He also spoke about the pact that had had with the Combine, which implied that the Mayor's seats in Amritsar and Jalandhar will wrest with the BJP whereas the same will be for the SAD candidates in Ludhiana and Patiala, he claimed.

The SAD district unit chief Upkar Singh Sandhu today said the party will table its claim to have the SAD candidate bag the Mayor's seat this time in Amritsar. “Every time, it was only the BJP candidate who was elected as the Mayor as well as the chairman of the Improvement Trust. Out of a total of five legislative Assembly seats, four have been occupied by the BJP. All this needs to be reviewed and we will table a proposal to allot the Mayor’s seat as per the comparative percentage of the number of seats won here,” he said.

Candidate speak
The younger generation spends more time on the Internet than in any other activity. The response of the age group can be assessed from the comments below the postings on the profiles of the candidates

— sukhamrit kaur, PPP candidate from Ward no 5

Amritsar, June 9
Major political parties, though have created rebels by ignoring senior workers and leaders, banks on the family legacy of candidates, who had been given the green signal to enter the MC poll battle for the first time.

The SAD-BJP combine has allotted ticket to 54 newcomers and the Congress has allotted ticket to 21 new faces, a majority of them are wives of sitting councillors, those closely linked to MLAs and dissidents from other parties.

Top on the list is Geetinder Kaur Bolaria, wife of Inderbir Singh Bolaria, sitting SAD MLA (South). The SAD has allotted her ticket from Ward 36.

At Ward 32, sitting SAD councillor Shamsher Singh Shera managed to grab a seat for his wife Ranjit Kaur after the ward was declared reserved post delimitation.

Jasbir Singh Sham, who quit the PPP, got SAD ticket for his wife Bibi Harminder Kaur Sham from Ward 38.

The BJP has fielding Madhu Khanna from Ward 9. She is the wife of Improvement Trust Chairman and sitting councillor from Ward 9 Sanjeev Khanna. Dejected by this, another sitting BJP councillor (Ward 26) Rajinder Pappu Mahajan fielded his wife Neetu Mahajan as Independent against Madhu Khanna.

Congress rebel Ajit Singh Bhatia, who joined the BJP recently, got BJP ticket for his daughter-in-Law Simarpreet Kaur from Ward 20.

Surinder Chawdhary, the sitting Independent councillor from Ward 3, is not only contesting on the Congress ticket from the same ward, but has also managed another Congress ticket for his wife Nirmal Chawdhary from Ward 54.

The Congress has also given the ticket to two independent councillors, Surinder Chaudhary (Ward 3) and Mamta Dutta (Ward 2) while ignoring other staunch party workers. Mamta is a close relative of Congress sitting councillor Sunil Datti, who voluntarily chose not to contest.

Similarly, preference was given to sitting councillor Neelam Khanna’s husband Mahesh Khanna from Ward 46. Congress councillor from Ward 14 Narinder Singh Tung was successful in getting ticket for his wife Paramjit Kaur, after the ward was declared reserved for women.

From Ward 49, Congress councillor Parveen Kanwar’s husband Kanwar Rajinder Singh was given a ticket. From Ward 15, Congress ticket went to Gurjeet Kaur, wife of sitting councillor Anek Singh after the ward was declared reserved.

Congress sitting councillor (Ward 29) Navdeep Singh Goldy’s uncle Navtej Singh has been given a ticket from Ward 29.

Amritsar, June 9
Residents of the areas under Ward number 35, represented by the SAD Councillor Surinder Singh Sultanwind, have to often grapple with the problem of sewerage mixed drinking water supply. The residents say the problem is rampant in the area as the supply pipes are old and worn out at most places.

The councillor too admits that problem exists. The residents said dirty water which is supplied to them, which is unfit for human consumption and may result in the spread of diseases.

“The problem is so common that we have lost faith,” said a resident.

However, the residents rue about the condition of sewerage, unpaved streets and sanitation in the area. The residents rue that sewerage water overflows when it gets choked and they have to plead with the safia sewaks to get them cleared. The residents say they often have to pay money to these workers to please them so that they do their job properly and in time.

However, most of the residents in Kot Atma Ram, New Kot Atma Ram, Jaspal Nagar, Gurnam Nagar, Yodh Nagar, Namdev Colony and Kot Salegram expressed satisfaction with the functioning and achievements of the councillor. The residents said the councillor is easily available and listens to their problems.

Councillor speak
The MC has spent more than Rs 3.5 crore for the ward. Numerous streets have been re-carpeted during these five years. The MC is working on a proposal to get the problem of drinking water in the area solved. The pipes are old and problems surface after every six months. We have chalked out a blue print of the projects needed to be started in the next five years~

— Surinder Singh (SAD)

residents speak
Sometimes water overflows in the streets and we have to wait for the safai sevaks. They don’t listen till some influential and politically known person asks them to do their job. They are not even regular in lifting garbage~

— balwinder Singh

Amritsar, June 9
Tardy garbage removal, no replacement of streetlights, lack of potable water supply in parts of Ward 34, is the major problems faced by residents of this area.

Situated on the Sultanwind road, the ward includes New Azad Nagar, New Gobind Nagar, Gobind Nagar, East Gobind Nagar, Kapoor Nagar and Uttam Avenue. These areas make for a sprawling township with wide roads and houses based on new designs.

The facilities provided by the civic body are yet to match the pace of progress achieved by the people. Repeated pleas to rectify anomalies and problems are not redressed. Sometimes, the residents themselves install new bulbs and fix other problems.

Councillor speak
Development works of nearly Rs 3.5 crore were carried out in her ward in shape of CC flooring, laying of sewerage, brick lane roads and pre-mix roads~

— manjit kaur

residents speak
Tardy way of cleaning sewerage channels has resulted in their disappearance under heaps of garbage. As a result rain water does not conveniently enter the drain. Thus, a minor shower turns the road into a puddle~

— Daljit Singh

Streetlights are woefully less in the area and many of them are lying unused as bulbs need to be replaced immediately

— narinder pal Singh

Amritsar, June 9
Residents of Ward 42, represented by Congress councillor Ashwani Kale Shah, do not have access to safe drinking water. The water is contaminated and it is unfit for consumption.

The residents said water supply pipes in the area pass just above the open sewerage drains posing a great health hazard. The residents said water-borne diseases are common in the area.

The residents claim that they have complained to the civic authorities a number of times, but nothing has been done to replace these pipes.

The residents also complained about the over head loose electricity wires and frequent power cuts.

The areas that fall in the ward are Chatiwind Gate, Chowk Lachhmansar, Chowk Chabutra, parts of Chowk Moni, Jai Singh Chowk, Bazaar Lohara, Chowk Chintpurni, Gilwali Gate, Joura Pipal and Dali Deviwali.

The residents also complain about the frequent clogging of open drains and sewerage systems. The problem of vegetable vendors and shopkeepers throwing waste in the drain leads to it blocking the sewerage system. The area also suffers from traffic chaos as the streets are congested.

Councillor speak
Belonging to the opposite party, we faced discrimination at the hands of the ruling alliance in terms of fund sanction for development works. We still have projected the problems of the area in the house and secured some funds

— Ashwani Kale Shah

Amritsar, June 9
Ward 44 is plagued by contamination and shortage of drinking water. Residents blame the civic authorities for the apathetic attitude.

Another problem is that of irregular garbage lifting. Even as the authorities as well as the area councillor said there is adequate number of tubewells installed in the ward, the irony is that the depleting water level has led to shortage in summers. Power cuts in odd hours have added to residents’ woes.

The areas that fall in the ward include Ranjhe Di Gali, Bagh Choudhrian, Hatimtali Gali, Mahajana Wali Gali, Purani Gard Gali, Chaura Bazaar, Mallka Wali Gali, etc.

Councillor speak
The problem of water shortage is because of depletion of groundwater. Otherwise 11 tubewells were installed in Khazana Wala Gate, Moti Mohalla and Uthaian Wali Gali, Launga Wali Khui, near Ravi Dass Mandir, Shiv Baba chowk etc. Two more are in the pipeline. The sewerage system too will be revamped soon

— Raman Mahajan (BJP

residents speak
We are forced to drink contaminated water, the sample of which have been shown many a time to the MC authorities

— Gulshan Kumar

The authorities claim to have spent over Rs 3 crore on development projects in the area, but what’s the use when the sewerage system could not be rectified

— ajaib Singh

Amritsar, June 9
He is a software engineer who wants to become a farmer and finds pleasure in capturing emotions on lens.

Twenty seven-year-old Harpreet Singh defines life of many through pictures, clicked by him. As his solo exhibition opened in Thakar Singh Art Gallery, the artist from Hoshiarpur shared his excitement of becoming a member of the artistic community and his decision of not making a career out of it.

“Over the past two years, I have been wandering and exploring all parts of Punjab. The quiet, serene villages and the big cities buzzing with development activities made me develop more on the idea for the theme of this exhibition, ‘Colours Of Punjab’. The 39 pictures that are on display exhibit and capture every possible colour of the land, its people and its culture,” said Harpreet.

The pictures are a colourful display of landscapes, rural life and portraits that symbolise the lifestyle in Punjab.