Contaminated water supply, choked sewer irk residents

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Amritsar, September 25

The municipal corporation (MC) Ward No. 17 comprises Vijay Nagar, Tondon Nagar, Rajinder Nagar and the Guru Nanak Nagar areas on Batala Road.

The residents have been facing the issue of contaminated potable water supply due to choked sewers in the ward. The area residents have alleged that the MC has failed to find permanent solution to choked sewer lines. Besides, the sanitation in the ward has also gone worse. Heaps of garbage can be seen on main Batala Road and street corners in Vijay Nagar and other localities. The residents also alleged that irregular lifting of garbage from localities had aggravated the problem of insanitation.

Ajay Monga, a resident of Vijay Nagar said, “Water contamination is one of the major issues in the area. A large number of residents have been suffering from dengue and chikungunya. Mosquitoes are breeding in water accumulated on vacant spots. The MC should conduct fogging in narrow streets.”

“Earlier, vehicles of solid waste management company used to lift garbage from every house regularly. Now workers of the firm visit the ward twice in a week. Tardy garbage lifting is one of the major issues of the area,” said Asha, a resident of Rajinder Nagar.

Sandhya Sikka, former area councillor and Leader of the Opposition, alleged that after dissolution of the General House, officials of the MC had stopped responding to public complaints.

“The residents of Ward No. 17 are getting contaminated water supply for the last one year. We receive regular complaints of water contamination, sanitation and choked sewers but unable to resolve them as MC officials don’t pay any heed. The sanitation conditions have worsened as the solid waste management company does not have sufficient number of vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection,” said Sikka.