Now, MCB to beautify DAV pond at Rs 2.09 cr

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 17

The Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has planned to beautify the DAV pond at a cost of Rs 2.09 crore. The civic body is also planning to convert the pond, spread over 11.78 acres, into a picnic spot.

The corporation has already approved various proposals for the area, including the installation of streetlights at a cost of Rs 17.77 lakh, boundary walls at Rs 77.70 lakh, increase in green cover at Rs 44.88 lakh, construction of footpath at Rs 45.85 lakh and a gate of the pond at Rs 30.50 lakh, in the General House meeting held last week.

As per the plan, a jogging track would also be constructed around the pond. An open gym, along with a volleyball court, would come up in a corner of the park. Besides, the MC is planning to make a kids’ corner in which joy rides would be installed. Desilting and cleaning work had already been done at the pond last year.

Beautification of the DAV pond is one of the dream projects of Finance Minister and Bathinda (Urban) MLA Manpreet Singh Badal. The civic body would spend around Rs 6 crore in total on the project.

The map of the project has already been prepared and as per MCB officials, the Finance Minister has assured them of adequate funds for the project.

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that three different proposals for the DAV pond land were presented before the House in the past. However, the work on them failed to start due to lack of funds.

In 2011, the then Deputy Commissioner, Kamal Kishore Yadav, proposed to give this land to the Bathinda Improvement Trust and construct a seven-storey building, along with a public park, a senior citizens’ home and a community hall. A 15-member committee was also constituted for the project, but it failed to take off.

Earlier last year, desilting of the pond was done to increase its capacity for the accumulation of rainwater. The MCB, through the Sewerage Board, had installed motors at the corners of the pond. By doing so, rainwater flown here was to be pumped out through the motors to provide relief to the residents living in nearby areas, such as Aggarwal Colony, Bhatti road, Basant Vihar and Bibiwala road. But the project failed to materialise.