‘Nobody’s baby’: Bal Kalan entrepreneurs seek upkeep by state small industries body
The establishment of manufacturing units has changed the character of Bal Kalan village, situated on the outskirts of the city, during the past over two decades.
The setting up of industrial units started way back in 2004. Availability of land at low rate near the city attracted more units, increasing their numbers every year. Following demand from the industrialists, Bal Kalan village was designated as an industrial pocket and included in the Master Plan of Amritsar, drafted for a period from 2010 to 2030. Among all the industrial units, textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing units are the maximum in number.
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Amenities run dry as sewer woes overflow in Bal Kalan
Entrepreneurs rue that their area is “nobody’s baby”, so at the time of civic trouble, they can neither ask the Municipal Corporation which has advanced cleaning equipment, nor the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), which takes care of industrial pockets. Bal Kalan Industrial Welfare Association members say that their major demand at present is that the Bal Kalan industrial area should be brought under the ambit of the PSIEC for regular maintenance since it was already a designated industrial pocket.
Presently, the storm sewerage on the main road is lying choked, threatening to damage the newly laid stretch. They said it should be cleaned on priority basis so that the road could be maintained. Otherwise, it was extremely tough to approach the authorities concerned and frequent their offices to get the work done.
The PSIEC laid 24’’ sewerage pipes in the village road and it was attached with the storm sewerage. The problem not being resolved implies that the road will soon wither out.
After the members of the Bal Kalan Industrial Welfare Association took up the demand for laying roads in the village and installing street light in the area, the government approved a development project estimated at Rs 8 crore. Sundeep Khosla, president of the association, said a delegation had met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a Sanat Sannatkar Milani on September 24 which paved the way for the development of the area. He said at present, the road is being laid and street lights are being installed which has given a sense of security to the entrepreneurs, factory workers and labourers of the area.
