‘Seedhi Baat’ function goes off track, residents disgruntled

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 13

Chaos prevailed at the Seedhi Baat function organised by Swami Vivekanand Study Circle at SSD Girls College here today as residents who turned up at the event to ask questions to Municipal Corporation officials accused the organisers of staging a sham in which all the questions asked to officials, they alleged, were scripted and prepared in advance.

Organisers had advertised that the Mayor, along with other senior MCB officials, will face direct questions from the public in the function. But as it turned out it was only organisers who were questioning officials.

Irked over the whole thing, SAD leader Anil Bhola and president of NGO Naujawan Welfare Society, Sonu Maheshwari, along with residents, raised objections.

Sonu Maheshwari said, “It was advertised by the organisers that residents could ask direct questions to the MCB officials but we were highly disappointed as public was not allowed to ask any questions and only the panel of organisers was asking the questions.”

“In order to protest against this drama, we boycotted the event,” he added.

While answering the questions asked by the panel, Mayor Balwant Rai Nath admitted that a large numbers of sanitation workers worked in the houses of officials.

He also admitted that officials and employees of the MCB didn’t work effectively as public dealing was not going well and there were other lapses too.

He said as CCTV cameras had been installed, there wouldn’t be lapses any longer.

Retired IAS officer CS Talwar presided over the function and in panel discussion, Mayor Balwant Rai Nath, Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal, Deputy Mayor Gurinderpal Kaur Mangat and Assistant Commissioner BD Singla were present.

In the event, issues, including clean drinking water, clean environment and stray animals, were raised.

Panelists OP Sidana, Sandeep and VK Sharma raised the issue that residents have to face many problems in petty official works. They said MCB employees misbehaved with the people who came to lodge their complaints.

A demand was raised that the MCB should constitute a separate wing for these works so that residents do not face any problems.