Nothing’s fine in Burail

Ishrat S Banwait

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 2

One of the oldest and biggest villages of the City Beautiful is anything but beautiful. Burail is choked with a population of 90,000 while encroachments and lack of amenities only make things worse. One entering the village from the Sector 44/45 road side is welcomed by a market of scrap dealers, who have encroached on more than half of the road. These scrap dealers run a full-fledged motor market on the road with impunity.

Enter the village from the Sector 45/46 road side and you will notice a market full of hotels. Estimates suggest that close to 100 hotels exist in the village and most of these do not follow the building bylaws. Many hotels have become a hub of prostitution, drugs, gambling and betting. This has given rise to crimes like theft, pick-pocketing, snatching and eve-teasing in the village. 

Residents inform that pick-pocketing is common in busy markets of the village while thefts and snatchings take place in broad daylight. Missing streetlights in many areas have made these unsafe to walk through at night.

Poor roads are another problem in the village. Many roads need recarpeting, including the inner roads. Even the ones that are in proper condition are not properly levelled, which results in waterlogging at certain places due to the slope. Old wiring in the village, which has a huge population, is a cause of frequent power cuts as these wires and transformers get burnt due to high load. Power fluctuation, especially at night, damages home appliances.

Live power lines in the proximity of houses in some parts of the village are a cause for concern.

Shortage of water is a serious problem here, especially for people living on second floors. Residents say that those residing in the nearby housing board flats do not have to face such problem. The ‘step-motherly’ treatment meted out to the village is intentional, they claim.

Sewerage and drainage systems of the village are very old and warrant replacement. Blocking of sewer pipes and waterlogging in streets are regular nuisance. Residents complain that sewer pipes are not cleaned and cleared of blockages even after complaints are lodged in this connection.