Caution, men & machinery at work in Jalandhar West ahead of bypoll

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, July 8

With the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency scheduled to hold byelection on Wednesday, political parties are intensifying their efforts to garner the support of voters. Accordingly, the Municipal Corporation authorities have also mobilised their machinery to ensure that civic services function smoothly in the constituency ahead of elections.

Suction, sweeper trucks stationed

Several suction and sweeper trucks were seen stationed along the stretch from Babrik Chowk to Babu Jagjivan Ram Chowk. While some of these trucks bore number plates indicating they were from Amritsar and Ludhiana, others had no number plates, with their original district, municipal council or Municipal Corporation that it belonged to painted in black.

Sources reveal that JCBs, suction and sweeper trucks have been brought in not only from Jalandhar but also from neighbouring cities such as Amritsar and Ludhiana, along with Nakodar and other nearby towns that have a Municipal Council. The extensive mobilisation of men and machines aims to pre-empt any potential civic complaints that could emerge before the bypoll.

During a recent visit to the Jalandhar West area, several suction and sweeper trucks were seen stationed along the stretch from Babrik Chowk to Babu Jagjivan Ram Chowk. While some of these trucks bore number plates indicating they were from Amritsar and Ludhiana, others had no number plates, with their original district, municipal council or Municipal Corporation that it belonged to painted in black.

A suction truck driver, who preferred anonymity, revealed that they had been instructed to claim that their vehicle belonged to the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar and refrain from answering any further queries.

When asked about the presence of this machinery and why trucks from Amritsar and Ludhiana were there in Jalandhar West, MC officials explained that the contractor responsible for providing machinery had sourced it from neighbouring districts due to issues with the city’s own equipment. “Our responsibility is to ensure that the work is done on time and residents face no problems, regardless of their location in the city,” the officials stated.

Meanwhile, a few days ago, BJP candidate Sheetal Angural had taken up the issue in his live video on social media, accusing CM Bhagwant Mann of misusing administrative and municipal resources for his party’s advantage. Angural claimed that MC officials were acting under AAP leaders’ directives, promptly addressing previously neglected civic issues now to influence voters.

“For the past two and half years, the AAP government has shown no concern for the West constituency. Now just before the bypoll, they are ensuring that everything from suction trucks to waste collection is done on time to woo voters,” Angural said in his live video.