Sirsa residents block road over contaminated water and sewer issues

Residents of Preet Nagar in the Sirsa city, frustrated with the ongoing issue of contaminated drinking water and sewer blockages, staged a protest on Saturday by blocking the Sirsa-Bhadra Road. The protest, led by both men and women, lasted for an hour and caused a disruption for vehicles traveling in both directions. The protesters, especially women, expressed their anger over lack of clean water and the constant sewage overflow in their area.

The residents, including Simran Saluja, Pooja, Kamlesh Handa, Suresh Mehta, Shalu Chhabra, Jitender Kumar, and Surender Thakral, explained that they were dealing with these problems for the past three months. They claimed that sewer blockages were causing foul smell and dirty water to mix with the drinking water supply. Many children had fallen ill due to the contaminated water and the situation was becoming unbearable. Despite repeated complaints to the Public Health Department, both written and verbal, no action was taken and the authorities were giving evasive answers.

The protesters also expressed their frustration with the government, questioning the effectiveness of the “double-engine” government if basic services such as clean water could not be provided. They pointed out that the installation of the Gujarat gas pipeline in the area had caused further damage to the sewer and water lines, making the situation worse.

The protest attracted the attention of local police and Kirti Nagar Police Chowki in-charge, Vijender Singh, who arrived with his team to address the issue. After assuring the protesters that a meeting with Public Health Department officials would be arranged, the police managed to clear the roadblock, allowing the traffic to resume.

The residents warned that the situation would worsen as the summer heat intensified, and they urged the authorities to take immediate action before the problems escalated further.