Giving MC Act the go-by, illegal gates installed by residents

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 19

Illegal barriers placed at the entrance of most of the residential areas have put the locals at the receiving end. Many in unison have demanded to demolish these gates that are illegally erected on the public spaces.

In this regard, Amanjot Singh Dhall, son of Gurjit Singh Dhall, Drona garden Basti Bawa Khel, Jalandhar has filed a complaint to the Chief Ministerial Office (CMO). In his e-mail, he requested the Chief Minister to pressurise the district administration to take necessary actions on the illegal construction of these barriers.

Amanjot, who is also a social worker and is running The Blood Association Jalandhar for the past 8 years also said he received the CMO’s reply on June 12 in which it was clearly directed to the District Commissioner and the Municipal Authorities to immediately look into the matter, as the construction of gates at public property is also against the “Punjab Municipal Corporation Act”.

In his e-mail, Singh mentioned, “In the recent past, gates have been installed illegally in most of the localities, which has curbed the free movement of commuters into the residential areas. Rajinder Nagar, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Seth Hukum Chand colony, green model town, Maharaja Garden, Shakti Nagar, fatak gates and many other residential areas have installed permanent gates. Moreover, the people taking short cut routes have also been hit hard due to these gates at various entry and exit points.”

Amanjot also said these routes were preferably used by the locals as short-cuts to avoid getting into the rush of main roads and it was also unsafe to travel on the main roads at night.

Therefore, residents were misusing the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, by preventing the entry of outsiders into the public domain. Many complaints were also registered on this issue, but no action was taken by the department. Rather than violating the laws, more CCTV cameras and security guards should deployed, said Joginder Singh another resident. Whereas, few residents supported the establishment of gates as they said, it helps to maintain the safety and security of the residential colonies.

However, Mayor Jagdish Raja said, he hasn’t received any official confirmation on the matter. While giving clarifications he further said, these gates serve the purpose of sustaining the security of the colonies therefore any instant action could not be taken currently.