The road leading to the Kahajuri Gate residence of Ashwani Sekhri, the local Congress MLA, is symptomatic of the many ills plaguing this historical town.

Sekhri is also the chairman of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha's powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Locals say if this is the state of affairs in the MLA's own backyard, the situation in other parts of the town can be well imagined.

"Things are indeed getting from bad to worse. The historic Gurdwara-Kandh Sahib is located in our locality. Garbage heaps can be seen lying in the periphery of the sacred place. Repeated pleas to clean up the area have fallen on deaf ears," said Jagdeep Singh Teja, a resident of Umarpura village which falls within the MC limits. So precarious is the situation that the Principal Secretary (Local Bodies) has asked Deputy Director Pardeep Sabharwal, stationed in Amritsar, to rush to Batala today with instructions to clear the mess within 48 hours. The decision of the Principal Secretary came after his meeting with Sekhri in Chandigarh.

"Heaps of garbage are dumped into the Hansli Nullah because the dumping ground being used by the MC at Masania has already reached a saturation point," said Sekhri.

Batala SDM JS Grewal said although the Masania dumping ground could not be used, an alternative site at Bhullar village has been located. "The city will be cleared of garbage by the next week. Rain proved to be an impediment in getting the work started. Due to slush, all the four trolleys of the MC could not be used," Grewal added.