Lauhuka village residents suffer due to poor civic amenities

Though Lauhuka village held special significance in many fields and earned wide respect, residents faced numerous problems, including inadequate civic amenities. Amrik Singh, Angrej Singh, Jagir Singh, Avtar Singh, a former Sarpanch, and other locals said that, although the village had been provided with a water tank to supply better drinking water for about 20 years, it was of little use to a substantial section of the population. The residents reported that underground water pipes supplying drinking water leaked from several points, resulting in contaminated water, with filth often mixing with the drinking supply and yet residents were forced to drink it. It was said that about 200 families had not been given water supply connections, affecting the poor, who could not afford deep bores for their own mini-tubewells.

Though the village lay on the Tarn Taran–Patti road, the roadside had become a dumping ground for garbage at every point. Most of the village paths were either unpaved or had developed deep pits. The path connecting Lauhuka to the approach road of the Naushehra Pannuan link road remained waterlogged for more than a year, and this had now been damaged beyond repair; in the rainy season it became a severe headache for residents to cross.

The village had been given a sewerage facility by the state government about seven years earlier, but it had been left unfinished, creating trouble for all residents. Jagir Singh, a resident, said that during the sewerage installation the streets were dug up for laying pipes underground, which disrupted commuters, and older residents often fell at night. To install the sewerage, a mini-drain was dug at the side of the main road but had not been covered to date, and any serious mishap could occur there. This drain remained filled with wastewater, causing a foul smell and environmental pollution. There was no provision for wastewater drainage, and in the rainy season the whole village resembled a pond, with schoolchildren, especially the boys and girls, facing harassment.

All four common ponds in the village were filled with water hyacinth and had never been cleared or desilted for decades, resulting in water from these ponds entering the streets and the unpaved paths when they overflowed. During the rains, water lodging in the village became acute due to its low position relative to the main road, worsening the residents’ plight. In the rainy season rainwater from the road entered the village, turning the streets into pond-like conditions. One pond had been encroached upon by influential persons. Avtar Singh, a former Sarpanch, said that the wastewater arrangement must be a top priority to provide relief to residents. He noted that a drain passed near the neighbouring Nathuchank village, less than a kilometre away, and argued it was not impossible for the administration to connect Lauhuka to that drain, which could solve major problems of waterlogging in the village.

Residents alleged easy availability of drugs within the village, affecting the young generation most profoundly. They also demanded a bus shelter at the adda, as people from Lauhuka and nearby areas who came to take buses faced trouble in rain and heat.