In credit war, project opened twice

Tribune News Service
Mohali, September 22

In an apparent credit war between Punjab Health Minister and local MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu and Mayor Kulwant Singh, the project of laying of a water pipeline in Phase 11 has been inaugurated twice in the past three days.

Sidhu today inaugurated the Rs 61.77-lakh project. Interestingly, Mohali Mayor Kulwant Singh had opened the project just three days ago.

The project was a long-pending demand of the area residents. The pipeline, which is being laid for augmentation of water supply, would benefit hundreds of families in nearby phases.

Notably, it is not the first time that such an incident has occurred in the town.

Earlier, the two leaders had inaugurated open gyms in certain areas. While SAD-BJP councillors have repeatedly been alleging that the Congress leader was playing dirty politics to take credit for all development works being done by the Mohali Municipal Corporation, local Congress leaders claimed that they were instrumental in bringing funds from the state government for all such works. Sidhu said he was using his power and authority to procure funds running into crores of rupees for Mohali. “Everyone knows who is playing the dirty game here,” said the minister.

However, Mayor Kulwant Singh’s terse comment on the issue was ‘yeh jo public hai, yeh sab jaanti hai’ (people know everything). “I don’t need to say anything,” he said.