Civic issues, job insecurity dominate Hooda’s public grievance meet in Rohtak

Poor sanitation, pothole-ridden roads, the long-pending demand for regularisation of contractual employees and concerns of sportspersons figured prominently among the issues raised before former CM and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his residence on Monday.

Hooda spoke to the officials concerned and directed them to address the grievances raised by the residents at the earliest. Former Home Minister Subhash Batra and former MLA Sant Kumar were also present on the occasion. Residents from nearby villages reached the Hooda’s residence and apprised him of their grievances.

Prem Singh, a resident, said garbage piled up along various roads in the city had not only created insanitary conditions but also posed a serious risk of the spread of vector-borne diseases. “A foul smell persists along the roads, and people cannot pass through these stretches without covering their noses. Even then, it is difficult to escape the stench. The civic authorities claim that garbage is lifted at night, but heaps of waste can still be seen lying on the roads at any time of the day,” he said.

A group of contractual employees met Hooda and urged him to put pressure on the state government to ensure job security. They said they had been working on contractual terms for several years and sought regularisation and service benefits on the lines of guest teachers and extension lecturers.

Later, speaking to the media, Hooda said people from all sections of society were fed up with the BJP government, alleging that it had utterly failed to address their grievances. “Potholes have developed on several roads in the city. Garbage is piled up along almost every road, while people in many localities are forced to buy drinking water because of the supply of contaminated water. Even those seeking corrections in their Family IDs and Property IDs are struggling to get their records rectified,” he said.

Hooda also accused the BJP government of failing to give sportspersons their due recognition and opportunities. “Haryana’s players are major contributors to India’s medals at international sporting events, but the state government has diluted the ‘Padak Lao, Pad Pao’ policy introduced by the then Congress government,” he said, adding that the policy had played a key role in promoting sports culture in the state by rewarding medal-winning athletes with incentives and senior-level posts in the government setup.

Batra targeted the BJP government over the growth of unauthorised colonies in the outer areas of the city, sewage blockages and other civic issues being faced by residents.