History runs deep, civic issues deeper at Punjab's Palasaur

Palasaur village — an area of great historic significance as Guru Arjan Dev acquired land from its residents to establish the city of Tarn Taran — has been facing acute civic problems: a blot on the fair face of the administration.

The village, with a population of about 10,000 persons, is situated alongside the Tarn Taran-Dialpura road.

As the hamlet cries for drinking water and wastewater drainage, its roads have turned to garbage dumps.

These are just some of the many troubles that have made life in this storied village miserable.

The area presents a rare sight: a wastewater drain passes through the heart of the village.

About 40 years ago, a bio-gas plant was established here to manage animal waste, but the facility soon turned non-functional, improving virtually nothing. The stench of wastewater and garbage mar the streets of the village.

Jangbahadur Singh, Kuldeep Singh and many others villagers say a common village pond, ‘Bharti wala chhapar’, is the main problem for them.

Dug more than 30 ft deep about seven years ago, the pond is situated at the centre of the village.

Wastewater is discharged in the pond, and has contaminated the underground water supply for the entire village, residents say.

One villager, who is constructing a house near the pond, said he had to dig over 500 ft to get potable water from a domestic tube-well.

The pond has not been de-silted for over six years, and, as a result, it can be spotted filled with water hyacinth and waste.

In the monsoons, when the pond overflows, its water enters houses, with about 20 families having to move elsewhere for days at a time.

The condition of the Jarmastpur road here has gone from bad to worse in the last few years, with no one taking the responsibility to fix it.

Sarpanch Tehalbir Singh said he had prepared a proposal to resolve the problem of a drain passing through the centre of the village, and the village would see better drainage arrangements soon.