Jalandhar West bypoll: Civic works sidelined as politicians trade barbs

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, July 7

In the poster riddled constituency of Jalandhar West, where floodlights glare and microphones blare till late in the night in the run up to the bypoll, politicians have been navigating many a puddles, broken roads and backward areas to reach campaign meetings. With the public fed up of the rampant underdevelopment in the constituency and the bad quality of water and roads in many areas, ironically what has taken centre stage is the barbs that politicians have been throwing at each other, rather than resident’s issues.

While BJP candidate Shetal Angural has already responded to CM’s dare by “promising” to release a collection of “audio evidences” against AAP MLA Raman Arora and CM’s family, the CM has repeatedly been ruing his own bad choice in Angural and Rinku, who according to him, failed to get any work done. His biggest promise is that AAP candidate Mohinder Bhagat will now get them done. The CM has also intensified his attack against Congress candidate Surinder Kaur, the former senior deputy mayor in the corporation for failing to undertake any major works or development of the area during her tenure. His campaign addresses also mention drugs and his directions to police not to spare the anti-social elements in the area.

Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi, since the 2024 LS bypoll, has been trading guns against Rinku and Angural for failing Jalandhar West (his charges of the duo running illegal trades has also invited a legal notice today from Rinku). However, in the entire hullabaloo, the civic works in the area are the biggest casualty in the constituency which hosts some of the most backward areas of Jalandhar.

As the CM held four meets yesterday and the BJP held a campaign event at a temple near Model House, party workers navigated many a potholed road and plethora of waterlogged streets in the area to reach their campaign venues. The Bist Doab canal which runs in the middle of the area is flanked on both sides with streets, bylane and mohallas which have festering sewerage and waterlogging problems for years.

The notorious Basti areas which fall in the constituency are among the most backward localities in Jalandhar. Mithu Basti, Basti Gujan, Basti Bawa Khel etc. are infamous for sewerage problems and snatching incidents which make it impossible for residents to step out in the night. Ironically, while parties have targeted each other with videos of garbage dumps and clogged drains, residents feel none have actually spent time addressing these problems.

Sunita Devi, a Basti Sheikh resident, says, “My own car was stuck two days ago in the Gobind Nagar area when it rained in the morning. Water reached until the side mirror level. The local street with the councillor’s house was flooded. But these issues aren’t the key issues for politicians. Their car tyres come here for few days, ours bear the brunt for years.”

Basti residents feel neglected

The notorious basti areas which fall in Jalandhar West Assembly constituency are among the most backward localities in Jalandhar. Mithu Basti, Basti Gujan, Basti Bawa Khel etc. are infamous for sewerage problems and snatching incidents which make it impossible for residents to step out in the night. Ironically, while parties have targeted each other with videos of garbage dumps and clogged drains, residents feel none have actually spent time addressing these problems.