Sultanwind all messed up over erratic lifting of waste

Sultanwind, one of the oldest village in this border district, is in a mess, courtesy erratic garbage lifting.

With no regular lifting, refuse keeps piling on the roadsides, emanating a foul smell, much to the annoyance of passersby. Residents and social activists have been flagging the non-lifting of garbage from various localities regularly but to no avail as a number of garbage-collection vehicles are out of operation.

“After roads, our main demand is introduction of a mechanism for daily lifting of garbage,” said Gurpreet Singh, a cycle shop owner. He said heaps of garbage could be seen at various places. Residents of several localities in the Sultanwind area claimed that garbage collection vehicles came occasionally. Sometimes, they leave without picking up waste.

Several complaints made to the authorities concerned about irregular lifting of garbage have fallen on deaf ears, said residents, adding that there feared outbreak of some disease due to the unhygienic conditions.

Dangling cables installed by private companies along with transmission lines of the power corporation are an eyesore too.

Tejpreet Singh, a resident, said, “The government should not allow overhead wires, be it from the Electricity Department or private companies. In most modern cities, all cables are laid underground. This is the reason why streets in these cities look beautiful.”

Demanding delivery of quality basic amenities, the residents of several localities in the Amritsar West constituency are also protesting against the civic body due to non-lifting of garbage, choked sewer lines and contaminated water supply. The residents rued that pillar boxes installed in streets also cause inconvenience to commuters. They said these large boxes had eaten into the space meant for the smooth flow of the traffic.