Naushehra Pannuan: Of what use is this incomplete shed?

Even after getting funds for the completion of Naushehra Pannuan grain market, the Punjab Mandi Board has failed to finish the work. The incomplete work has become a headache for farmers, commission agents and other related persons for the last one year. The construction work of the grain market was started two years back and till date it had reached halfway. The Punjab Mandi Board had released crores of rupees for the developmental works, including covered sheds, reconstruction of the inter-roads, bathrooms, rest house, drainage system, etc for the grain market. Rajpal Singh, secretary of the committee, did not tell the exact amount of the grant released. The farmers and the commission agents had to pay the price in the current wheat crop season when the incomplete cover shed proved of no use. Balwant Singh Pannun, president, Federation of the Mandi Arhtiya Association, said the grain market had several technical defects. He said there was no drainage system in the mandi. During rainy season water enters the mandi due to lower plinth level which damages the stock. MehaL Singh of Bhathal Bhai Ke, Amarjit Singh of Dadehar Sahib, Harbhajan Singh of Chaudhriwala, Gursahib Singh of Krishgarh village said that their hundreds of wheat bags were damaged in the spilled inside the grain market. They demanded completion of the work without further delay.

Home no more a long walk away!

Gurdeep Singh Rataul, 93, a former SDO of the PWD and a social worker had helped Bihar migrants financially as they did not have money to go back to their homes. As many as 14 labourers had come from Bihar in the area to harvest wheat crop more than two months back. Dinesh, a representative of the labourers, said that due to Covid-19 pandemic and other circumstances they failed to make both ends meet during their stay in the area and as a result they were unable to earn money to go back to their respective villages. They had been coming to the area during wheat harvesting season since long. The migrants approached Gurdeep Singh Rataul for financial help which he happily agreed. Dinesh thanked Gurdeep Singh for the help.

Watch out! it’s a bumpy link road ahead

Elders of Sheron, Dhotian, Dugri, Chaudhriwala, Kot Muhammad Khan, Tur, Jamarai, Mundapind, Bhail Dhai Wala, Lalpur and many other villages have taken a serious note of the stoppage of renovation work on the Sheron-Jamarai link road which has gone at its worst condition. Sarup Singh Dhotian, an international handball coach, said that residents of these villages had been facing hardships due to the worse condition of the road for the last more than seven years. He said the road was repaired 10 years back. A year back the PWD coated the road with earth and stone. The earth clouds had been disturbing the residents’ whole day since years. About two months back the department restarted the work to put bitumen coat. The work was dropped midway again a month back. The villagers approached the officials concerned but the work had not been completed till date. Sharanjit Singh, JE of the department, said due to non-availability of labour the work had been stopped. The work will be started as soon as we will get the labour, he said. The residents said the farmers had to face problems in the wheat season to approach the grain markets. The approach roads of many other villages are of the same condition especially in the border area, people said.

(Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)