Solid waste plant issue pops up

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 15

A delegation of residents of 21 colonies located near the solid waste management plant on Thursday met Deputy Commissioner Praneet and demanded shifting of the plant away from the residential area.

The delegation was headed by Jeet Singh Joshi, convener of the Solid Waste Plant Hatao Morcha and SAD Bathinda (Urban) president Rajwinder Singh Sidhu, who is also the councillor from this area, was also present along with residents.

In a memorandum given by them to the Deputy Commissioner, they have stated, “Residents, under the banner of garbage plant hatao morcha, want to bring it to your notice that the last SAD-BJP government had set up the solid waste plant in a dense residential area near the water channel on the Mansa road, which has become a headache for us.”

They added that the solid waste plant, which had been set up against the norms, was spreading foul smell and was also posing a danger of diseases in the nearby areas.

They have also alleged that at that time officials had set up the plant by giving wrong affidavits as the PAU Regional Centre was located near to it and even the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, is in proximity to it.

Residents also stated that they had met Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who had given them assurance that the plant would be shifted away from the residential area, but so far nothing has been done at the ground level regarding this. 

Residents of around 21 colonies, including Mati Dass Nagar, Nachattar Nagar, Jogi Nagar, Harbans Nagar, House Fed Colony, Guru ki Nagari, Deep Nagar, Silver Colony, ITI and others are affected and are part of the morcha. 

Started as a pilot project in Bathinda, the solid waste treatment plant faced the ire of the public within a week after it got operational on a trial basis in January 2016. Since then, residents have been protesting against it. 

They had also announced to boycott the SAD candidate in the Assembly elections, after which Congress candidate Manpreet Badal had announced to shift the plant after coming to power. He had also included this demand in his local manifesto.