40 years on, basic amenities elude villages under MC limits

Neeraj Bagga

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 8

As many as 27 villages, situated on the city outskirts, were brought within the limits of Municipal Corporation (MC) one by one during the past 40 years. Mahal was the last village to be included within the city limits in 2007.

The civic condition in these villages continues to remain pitiable. Hopes of natives of these villages to avail facilities at par with the urban areas were dashed as the MC failed to provide basic civic amenities.

MC officials cite inadequate funds as the reason for not being able to provide quality amenities in these areas. They say the situation would improve as the civil work on providing 100 per cent sewerage connectivity to the entire city was under progress.

Residents stated that it was better to call their area villages. “With the inclusion of our villages within city limits various taxes, including property tax and development fee, are being levied before constructing houses, but we are being denied civic amenities on the line of the city,” he added.

For instance, Ward No. 59 includes Bharariwal and Fatahpur villages. Residents rue that though these localities were included in the MC limits more than 17 years ago, no development had taken place.

Harbhajan Singh, a resident of Bharariwal, said the garbage dump near the government elementary school made the surroundings unhygienic. Potholed roads were a major cause of accidents, he added.

A resident of the Fatahpur area Harjinder Singh said roads in the area usually remained waterlogged and in dilapidated condition.

Similarly, Sultanwind village falling in Ward No. 33 is still waiting for the water supply and sewerage connectivity. Broken roads and spilling of sewerage water is common in several parts of the ward.

A huge pond has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects. The consecutive governments did almost nothing for its cleaning and de-silting.

Frequently choked sewerage, bumpy roads, contaminated water supply and garbage dumps are the major problems faced by the residents of all villages.

The airport road bypass crosses Gumtala village. After the elevation of the status of the Amritsar airport to international level, several world-class hospitality chains and state-of-the-art private townships cropped up in its vicinity. Many unauthorised localities were also set up near the airport. A majority of these localities have narrow roads, lack sewerage and have no open area for parks.

In order to earn hefty profits, many private colonisers also constructed illegal colonies on the fertile agriculture tract near the airport, which attracted many people.