Elderly urge minister to allot land

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 22

Even years after getting repeated assurances from leaders of the ruling parties, elderly are waiting endlessly for Senior Citizens’ Bhawan at Rajguru Nagar, Ludhiana. The proposed project is yet to see the light of day while the authorities concerned failed to do the needful.

Now, members of the Rajguru Nagar Senior Citizens’ Welfare Association have requested Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra to allot a land and order Senior Citizens’ Bhawan to be built in the area at the earliest.

Association president Col Harbakhsh Singh (retd) said Rajguru Nagar, developed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, had no modern facilities. “Around 200 citizens are members of our association which is functioning without any Senior Citizens’ Bhawan. The members have to hold its meetings in a park, in the open, in all kinds of weather,” he said.

“Members of the association have been pressing the political leaders of various parties for the allotment of land by the LIT ever since its formation. The leaders of two main parties SAD and Congress, who had been ruling Punjab, had made several promises for the allotment of land. But nothing has been done so far,” a group of the members said.

The members further claimed that outsiders had been allotted land in the area by ignoring the rights of Rajguru Nagar residents.

KS Chawla, vice-president of the association, said, “Our association expressed its deep concern over the misleading attitude of the LIT authorities for making wrong allotments and depriving the senior citizens of their genuine demand. Since beginning, repeated requests and countless meetings with the LIT authorities proved meaningless.”

“We have written a letter to the Local Bodies Minister and requested him to allot the land and order for Senior Citizens’ Bhawan to be built at Rajguru Nagar,” he added.

In April 2017, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu had assured them that a land for the establishment of bhawan would be allotted very soon. The members were given assurance that its construction would be started by August 15, 2017.

The members claimed that Bittu had also assured that he would extend financial help for the bhawan from the MPLADS funds. But, they were still waiting for the day of allotment of land for the bhawan, they added.