Cleanliness drive or empty promises? City grapples with garbage crisis amid minister Ravjot’s visit

In a glaring contradiction, Local Bodies Minister Dr Ravjot Singh initiated a cleanliness drive in the city today, wielding a broom to promote sanitation. Yet just a stone’s throw away at the PUDA Complex, one of the city’s busiest hubs, an unattended garbage dump told a different story. A vacant plot is overwhelmed with waste, painting a dismal picture of neglect by the authorities concerned.

Around 1:30 pm today, this reporter witnessed ragpickers setting the accumulated trash ablaze in a desperate attempt to manage the overflow. When approached, they explained that the garbage had piled up beyond control, leaving them with no space for proper disposal.

“Burning waste not only alleviates the foul odour spreading to nearby office workers, but also creates much-needed space for additional refuse,” they said.

“This hazardous practice of burning garbage is not only a nuisance for residents, but also poses significant environmental risks. While farmers face fines and legal action for burning crop residue, similar activities in the urban areas seem to go unchecked, underscoring a concerning neglect by the municipal corporation authorities”, said Bharat Singh, a visitor.

Notably, The Jalandhar Tribune has repeatedly highlighted the unsanitary conditions prevailing at the complex in these columns. Despite multiple complaints filed by owners of the SCO with the municipal corporation (MC), their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Flaying the cleanliness initiative, Kuldeep Singh, an employee at the PUDA Complex, termed it as a cover-up, while suggesting that it was timed with the upcoming civic body elections.

“If the MC can’t maintain cleanliness in front of the DC office, what hope is there for the rest of the city?” he questioned.

Another employee, Jatinder Kumar, echoed similar sentiments and said both the MC and the Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) were responsible for the deteriorating condition of the complex. He said while the JDA imposed penalties on plot owners for failing to construct offices within designated timeframes, the vacant plot that had become a dumping ground continued to attract stray animals and posed health risks, all while officials seemed to turn a blind eye towards the issue.

Visitors at the PUDA Complex claimed that as the city continued to grapple with waste management challenges, there was an urgent need for making the local authorities accountable for the lapse in maintaining cleanliness in the city.