Problems galore for Chabal

The residents of Chabal, 16 km from here, have been facing a number of issues for years. The successive governments have failed to resolve their grievances, they say. They have been demanding proper drinking water supply, drainage of wastewater, acute traffic problems, shortage of teachers at schools among other problems. Besides, the foul smell emanating from the Kasur drain passing through the township has made their lives worse.

Chabal comprises seven panchayats — Chabal Adda, Chabal Pukhta, Chabal Khurd, Chabal Baghel Singh Wala, Chabal Baba Langah, Chabal Kham and Chabal Swaragupiri — having a population of about 25,000, including 16,500 voters. It is near  Gurdwara Beer Baba Budha Sahib where lakhs of devotees come to pay obeisance during the popular annual fair, besides the monthly congregation on Sangrandh.

The area was given water supply about 40 years ago but it was stopped around 10 years ago. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation states that the responsibility of supplying water has been transferred to Chabal Adda village panchayat. 

Sarpanch Awan Kumar, alias Sonu Cheema, said, “At the time of assigning the water supply responsibility to the village panchayat, there was a pending electricity bill worth Rs 1.6 lakh that the department hadn’t paid. Due to non-payment, the PSPCL snapped the power connection of the tube well, thus bringing the water supply to a halt.”

Though the tubewell is non-functional, Gurmej Singh, tubewell operation,  is still deputed there for no work. The sarpanch said repeated requests were made to the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation to make the payment but to no avail. The panchayat has made arrangement of drinking water on its own which is not sufficient, he said.

The region has no provision of drainage of wastewater. Due to this, the village ponds overflows most often, much to the chagrin of residents. The Kasur drain passing nearby has made the groundwater contaminated. 

The town faces heavy traffic jams at all four entry points where buses, taxis, three-wheelers, rehris and  rickshaws are parked throughout the day. 

Government Secondary School, Chabal, though offers science but it has no teacher for the subject. The work at the under construction bus stand has been going on at a snail’s pace.

The other side of the Atta-Dal scheme

A daily wager, Jagir Singh of Plasaur village, who hails from the Dalit community, has been opposing the Atta-Dal scheme of the state government, claiming that it was making youths of the Dalit  community drug addicts. He said youths in the villages had been borrowing money from some people to buy drugs, promising to return the same by selling the grain they get under the Atta-Dal scheme. 

The beneficiaries under the Atta-Dal scheme get grain at subsidised rates from the government and sell the same for Rs 12 to Rs 14 per kg to those they owe money. “Whenever the wheat stock arrives at the village depot, the money lenders appear at the depot and lift the grain after the beneficiaries purchase it. This scheme is making Dalits drug addicts,” he added.

Contributed by Gurbax Puri