Chowk named after Guru Nanak sans repairs in Malout

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Malout, December 5

The district administration named the Bathinda Chowk after Guru Nanak Dev on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev recently, but the rotary is in a dilapidated condition. It speaks volumes about the apathetic attitude of officials concerned.

Some local residents said no necessary repairs were carried out before renaming the chowk. They put up just a board mentioning the change of the name of the rotary. A number of tiles have fallen off the rotary due to frequent road mishaps. Further, a thick layer of dust has covered the rotary, but nobody has even bothered about cleaning it.

“The lights installed at the rotary do not work, which proves that the administration was in a hurry to rename it. We demand that the chowk should be beautified at the earliest or the name of the first Sikh Guru should be removed,” said some residents.

Mohinderpal, a local resident, said, “The chowk is the entry point of the town for those who come from Muktsar, Fazilka, Abohar and Bathinda. The chowk was raised with the efforts of late Bibi Surinder Kaur Badal, wife of former CM Parkash Singh Badal. The SDM and other officers are well aware of the situation, but doing nothing. Recently, a state-level programme was organised at the grain market to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, but the administration turned a blind eye towards this chowk even then.”

Meanwhile, some bus drivers said adequate lighting arrangements should be made along the chowk, which can minimise the number of road mishaps. “Though some cops remain deployed near the chowk, they too are helpless in the night,” they claimed.