NEIGHBOURHOOD

reality check
Patiala groans under huge civic mess
Heaps of garbage, potholed roads, defunct streetlights, irregular water supply and parking woes scar the Royal City
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 29
It has been over four months since the new house of the Patiala Municipal Corporation came into existence.

Garbage littered around Beant Singh Shopping Complex.

Mayor Jaspal Pradhan made tall promises of providing proper civic facilities to those residing in 50 municipal wards of the city.

However, much to their dismay, the problems pertaining to roads, water supply, sewerage system, streetlights, stray animals and parking have only compounded.

Residents are facing one or the other civic problem, with the civic functionaries miserably failing to take corrective steps. The situation has acquired such an alarming proportion that protests by aggrieved residents outside the MC have become a routine affair.

This stretch at Chhoti Baradari needs urgent repair.

Pathetic Roads

Roads in the royal city are in a bad shape. In many areas, these need to be re-carpeted. The patch work has to be done to cover the potholes. The condition of the roads in Guru Nanak Enclave is bad and people have made several representations to the MC, but to no avail. Ditto is the case in some of the inner city markets.

"The roads in our area are in a pitiable condition," said Mohinder Kaur, a resident of Green Park. The residents of New Green Park also expressed similar views. The civic body had recently started the patch work, but it was not taken up in several areas.

Water crisis

Despite the fact that there should have been no water scarcity in winter, several areas are grappling with water crisis. When inquired, it came to light that there are different reasons. Some of the areas, where the water scarcity problem has left the residents high and dry include New Mehar Singh Colony, some localities of Tripri, Bishan Nagar, Guru Nanak Enclave, Tej Bagh Colony.

RK Sharma, a resident of Guru Nanak Enclave, complained that the water pipeline had been laid in their area but the supply was only up till street number 7.

In some areas, residents said they got water in the morning, but for just an hour and that too at very low pressure.

"The main reason behind the problem is that when the water at the tail end of the tubewell reaches, the pressure becomes very low. Overhead water reservoirs (traditional water tanks) should be used to supply water," asserted councillor Sanjeev Bittu, leader of the opposition.

Stray animals

Stray cattle roam freely at a residential area in the city.

Karandeep Singh, who is employed with a private firm, said the Patiala civic body had been an utter failure when it came to dealing with the ever-increasing menace of stray dogs. In the past few years, there had been thousands of dog bite cases, but the civic body has failed to find a solution. The NGOs have been holding protests, but the civic body did nothing.

"It is difficult for morning walkers to go out," said Dr DS Bhullar, secretary general of the Society for Peoples' Welfare and Awareness, Patiala, an NGO.

About 2,500 dog bite cases were reported at Government Rajindra Hospital in the past three years.

Streetlights out

There are around 27,000 streetlights in 50 municipal wards. Though the problem of non-functional streetlights is not that severe, in some areas like New Rajpura Power House Colony, Model Town, Chhoti Baradari and TB Hospital Road, the streetlights have developed a snag and the MC has not bothered to get those repaired. Flaying the civic officials for not paying attention towards the maintenance of the streetlights, residents said a fatal mishap could take place at night.

"Recently, two youths on a motorcycle fell when their motorcycle collided with stray cattle in New Rajpura Power House Colony," said Varinder Kaur, an area resident.

Choked sewerage

Sewage accumulated at the rear of Malwa Theatre.

The Patiala civic body has overlooked the problem of the choked sewerage in several areas. The worst-affected areas with the problem of the over-flowing sewage include Bagichi Hetram, Chandini Chowk, Dhobi Ghat, TB Hospital Road, the rear of Beant Singh Shopping Complex, Ragho Majra and New Rajpura Power House Colony.

Sewage accumulated on roads outside houses can result in an epidemic outbreak.

As a result, stink engulfs the entire area.

"We are not happy with the functioning of the sanitation wing of the civic body. The sewerage remains choked," said Rajni Gulati, a resident of Bagichi Hetram.

After the area residents held a protest outside the Mayor's office, the MC had got the sewerage cleaned up.

Shopkeepers at TB Hospital Road said even if the de-silting was done, the waste was left on roads to rot.

GS Anand, a retired bank employee, said the civic body had not paid any heed to their pleas.

"It is a virtual hell to breathe foul smell round the clock because of the overflowing sewage," said Jatin, a student.

Garbage being dumped in the open in areas like Anardana Chowk, Tripri, Chotti Baradari and Dharampura Bazaar, is another issue which has been overlooked by the Municipal Corporation.

Parking

Commuters make way through a busy road near the Patiala bus stand.

So far, the MC has miserably failed to end the parking woes. During the past five years, the civic body could not even set up a multi-storeyed parking lot to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. In the absence of the earmarked parking spaces, shoppers are left with no option, but to park their vehicles alongside roads, which leads to traffic chaos. The areas, where traffic jams are a routine occurrence, are Mall Road, Bus Stand Road, Lower Mall, Sheranwala Gate, Adalat Bazaar and Anardana Chowk. As of now, there are just a few parking lots in City Centre, Beant Singh Shopping Complex and Leela Bhawan. "In the absence of the parking lots, the commuters have to bear the brunt of getting stranded in traffic jams," said Jaskaran Singh, a resident of Harinder Nagar.

With hundreds of vendors encroaching upon roads in Chhoti Baradari every Sunday, the parking chaos near the Beant Singh Complex and the area behind the Malwa Theatre compounds.

Promises made by Jaspal Pradhan when he became the Mayor After he was elected the Mayor, Jaspal Pradhan said that in order to tide over the problems of residents, he would start a programme "Mayor aap ke dwar". He was supposed to visit different areas every month. Four months down the line, the programme has not taken off. Pradhan blames shortage of funds for the delay. He said the officials had been told to ensure to clean up the sewerage and de-silt the choked pipes. "As far as roads are concerned, the repair work has started. Directions have also been issued to the staff to ensure that there is no drinking water scarcity," he said. What Municipal Commissioner GS Sidhu says Sidhu said as and when any civic problem is brought to his notice, he immediately issues directions to solve it. When asked about the problem of the sewerage, he said the work to de-silt the choked sewerage system was in progress. "As far as roads are concerned, we have done the repairs and patch work. Defunct streetlights have been fixed. A proposal regarding the setting up of a multi-storeyed parking complex has already been sent to the government.

 

In the absence of parking lots, traffic jams are a routine affair in the city. Jaskaran Singh, a student The roads in our area are in a pitiable condition. Why can't the civic body get the patch work done? Mohinder Kaur, a resident of Green Park The civic body has not paid any heed to our requests. It has done a little to fix the sewerage system. GS Anand, a retired bank employee Garbage is not lifted from the area on a regular basis. How can the MC remain mum over the issue? Satwant Kaur, a resident of Dashmesh Nagar The MC has failed to check the stray dog menace in the city. In the past few years, there had been thousands of dog bite cases, but the civic body has failed to find a solution. Karandeep Singh, a resident

Chandigarh, January 29
Four youths have been arrested for the burglary at five booths in Sector 41 two days ago.

The police recovered a stolen Ford Ikon car from their possession. The arrested youths have been identified as Tarsem Kumar, Pankaj, Rocky and Rohit of Bhaskar colony in Sector 25.

The police said Tarsem and Pankaj were arrested when they were driving a Ford Ikon car near Sector 39 and their interrogation led to the arrest of two other youths. Three other miscreants involved in the robbery were absconding. The gang had targeted five booths in Sector 41 and one house in Sector 37. The accused have been remanded in two-day police custody.

Chandigarh, January 29
In a case of ATM card cloning, Parminder Singh, an employee of the Punjab government, lost Rs 18,000 from his State Bank of India (SBI) bank account.

He said fraudsters withdrew the amount from an ATM of Bikaner Bank in Sector 30.

Parminder said he came to know about the withdrawal on receiving a text message from the bank.

The police has registered a case of forgery.

Parminder, a resident of Kharar in Mohali, said his ATM card was with him when the amount was withdrawn from his account. Parminder said he had used his card for paying fuel charges and shopping at various occasions in the past. The police said the CCTV footage of the Bikaner Bank ATM was being scrutinised to get any clue about the fraudsters.

Chandigarh, January 29
Vivek High Asian Cricket Academy defeated United Cricket Club by 28 runs in the ongoing 2nd Sardar Bhagwant Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament here today.

The winning side, after being put in to bat first, posted 127 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Angad Khera (43), Karan Veer Khosla (36) and Vikram Brar (25) were the main contributors. For the bowling side, Kuldeep and Sampark claimed two wickets each.

In reply, man of the match Siddharth took five wickets for 16 to wrap up the United Club innings on 99 runs. Anhad Sachdeva and Ransher Randhawa claimed two wickets each. Arshdeep (30) and Raghav (24) were the main scorers for the losing side. In another match, St John’s School, Sector 26, beat Golden Cricket Academy, Mohali, by 68 runs. Batting first, St John’s boys scored 164 runs. Pranjay Sharma (42), Vaibhav Kaushik (27) and Akhil Gularia (27) were the main contributors. For the bowling side, Khushi and Rakesh claimed three scalps each.

Chasing the target, Golden Cricket Academy were bundled out on 96 runs. Ankit (32) and Kulbir (20) were the main scorers. For the winning side, Pranjay, Tejas Kang and Pratul Chudhaury claimed three wickets each. Pranjay Sharma was declared the man of the match for his all-round performance.

Chandigarh, January 29
The team of DAV Public School, Sector 8, defeated Guru Teg Bahadur School, Patiala, by 58 runs, in the ongoing Inter-School Boys (U-16) Cricket Tournament for Coca Cola Cup today.

After winning the toss and electing to field first, the Patiala school restricted the opponents at the score of 204 runs. The fielders dismissed opener Bhagminder Singh through a run out, with the team’s total reading 8 runs. Raman Bishnoi and Jasnoor Singh added 34 runs for the second wicket before Jasnoor was trapped in front by Raj Kumar for 14 runs.

Abhimanyu Singha and Vineet Dhakka made a 54-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Vineet Dhakka was caught by Bhupinder off Naman for 28.

Later, Pradeep Yadav joined Jasnoor and the duo took the total to 156 adding 58 runs for the fifth wicket before Pradeep was cleaned up by Jashan for 23 runs. Abhumanyu was caught by Naman off Raj Kanwar for 63 off 81. For the bowling side, Mandeep Bawa claimed 3 for 27, while Raj Kanwar took 2 for 43. In reply, the openers, Karan Pathak and Mandeep Bawa, added 55 runs for the first wicket before Karan was trapped in front by Raman Bishnoi for 19 off 47 inclusive of one boundary and a six. Mandeep and Jashan Singh added 25-runs for the second wicket before Mandeep was dismissed by Sagar Sharma for 43 off 83.

Patiala’s innings folded up for 146 in 46 overs. For the bowling side, Bhagminder Singh, Sagar Sharma, Raman Bishnoi and Shubham Chand claimed 2 wickets each.

Brief scores

DAV, Chandigarh: 204 all out in 47.3 overs (Abhimanyu Singha 63, Vineet Dhakka 28, Pradeep Yadav 23, Raman Bishnoi 21, Mandeep Bawa 3 for 27, Raj Kanwar 2 for 43).

Guru Teg Bahadur, Patiala: 146 all out in 46 overs (Mandeep Bawa 43, Jashan Singh 28, Bhagminder Singh 2 for 31, Sagar Sharma 2 for 29, Raman Bishnoi 2 for 13, and Shubham Chand 2 for 22).

Chandigarh, January 29
In the ongoing Panjab University Inter-College Korfball Championship, GGDSD College, Sector 32, defeated Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11, 7-5 on the PU grounds here today.

In another match, SGGS College, Sector 26, beat DAV College, Sector 10, 9-7.

In the last league match, the Panjab University Campus team routed GGDSD College 15-4.

Chandigarh, January 29
Yoga performers of MBBGRGC Girls College, Mansowal, secured first position with 872 points during the ongoing Panjab University Inter-College Yoga Championship for Women (B-Division) being held here today.

MLBG Girls College, Tapprian Khurd, attained the second position with 726 points. In the C-Division group, DAV College of Education, Abohar, attained 1,096 points, while Dev Samaj College of Education collected 1,079 points to finish winner and runners-up, respectively.

Results

Individual All-Round Best Yogies B-Division: Gurpreet Kaur, MBBG RGC Girls College, Mansowal: 68.33 points; Ranjana Bhanot, MBBG RGC Girls College, Mansowal: 60.33 points.

Individual All-Round Best Yogies C-Division: Ruchi Sharma, Dev Samaj College of Education: 84.33 points; Mamta, DAV College of Education, Abohar, 84.33 points.

Chandigarh, January 29
In the third match of the Army Institute of Law Premier Cricket League, the host team registered a hairline margin victory over United XI here today. The team registered a one-run win over the rivals.

Bowling first, the winning side restricted the opponents on 132 runs. Nitin contributed 35 runs, while Avtaar scored 21 runs for the team.

Bowlers Rajat Sharma took 3 for 12, while Avinash Singh and Dipendra Singh claimed two wickets each.

Chasing the target of 133 runs, Armaan Grewal scored an unbeaten 43 runs to ensure his team's victory.

He was equally supported by Rajat Sharma, who scored 23 runs.

Armaan was adjudged as the man of the match for contributing the maximum runs.