Kot Khalsa, Inderpuri residents up in arms over poor sanitation

Amritsar, August 11

Irked over poor sanitation, residents of Kot Khalsa and Inderpuri demonstrated against the Municipal Corporation over stagnant rainwater and irregular lifting of garbage here yesterday.

Jaswant Singh, a social activist in the area, said that rainwater had accumulated in vacant plots of Kot Khalsa, Indrapuri and Sunder Nagar. The muddy water in plots and streets stinks. Residents claimed that vector-borne diseases have also been reported from homes because of mosquitoes and flies breeding in the stagnant water. A number of residents, mainly women led by Jaswant Singh, marked their protest against the government and the MC.

Sumitra Devi, a local resident, said that areas like Indrapuri and Sunder Nagar are underdeveloped and deprived of basic amenities. “Local politicians make tall claims before the elections of developing the locality. But after the formation of the government, no one even pays a visit. Now we are in crisis due to the poor drainage of rainwater. Water-logging in the area has made their life tough. People are suffering from high fever, dengue and other diseases.”

Social activist Jaswant Singh said that the employees of private solid waste management firm hired by MC for garbage collection do not even visit the area regularly. The door-to-door garbage collection vehicles visit only once a week. Because of this, people are forced to throw garbage outside on the streets. The heaps of garbage can be seen in every street corner of the area.

Jaswant Singh said that if the issues are not addressed, they would block the traffic on GT Road.

The residents including Avtar Kaur, Desraj, Kashmir Kaur, Mamta Devi and Pawan Kumar claimed that the MC and Health Department teams also do not visit their areas for fogging.