Heart of Punjab: Poor waste management leaves holy city down in the dumps

The Punjab Government, and indeed, all Punjabis, especially Sikhs around the world, will soon be marking the 350th anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, but even a cursory visit to the city where the Guru was born – now the holy city of Amritsar -- may leave the unsuspecting outsider in a state of total confusion.

The beautifully marbled complex of the Golden Temple is a soothing sight for the senses, but step outside and unattended heaps of garbage, broken roads, and the stench emanating from the Bhagtanwala dump leave a bad impression.  

This August, a Dubai-based company responsible for door-to-door waste collection stopped operations after giving six months’ notice to the Municipal Corporation. Since then, garbage has piled up at every corner and open space, be it green belts, the walled city or the central verge of the city’s main roads.

This Monday, Mayor Jatinder Singh Bhatia and MC Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill posed for photographs at Gurdwara Guru Ka Mahal, the birthplace of Guru Teg Bahadur, announcing cleanliness drives along the route connecting Darbar Sahib with it for the 350th martyrdom anniversary events.

This is the same bazaar where, in August under the directions of Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains collected garbage with his own hands as penance for performing bhangra during a religious event in Kashmir.

Mayor Bhatia, who switched from the Congress to AAP, in a conversation with The Tribune, avoided blaming previous governments. He insisted that the newly hired garbage collection firm will streamline operations by the New Year. Amritsar has heard these promises before.

From two-time former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, formerly in the Congress and now in the BJP, to former Akali Dal deputy CM Sukhbir Badal to Akali Dal-turned-Congress-turned BJP leader Manpreet Badal to separatist Sikh leader Simranjeet Singh Mann, political leaders visiting Amritsar have used the backdrop of the city and its incredibly beautiful landmarks – the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Mandir, and others – as perfect photo opportunities.

But once the picture is taken, many tend to move on. Capt Amarinder Singh had promised during his August 2016 visit to the Bhadrakali Temple that the Bhagtanwala garbage dump would soon be shifted out of the city. Simranjeet Singh Mann, in September 24, momentarily set aside his demand for Khalistan to make a “simple request” that the Bhagtanwala dump issue needed to be urgently addressed.

“The smoke and stench from this dump disturb devotees at Darbar Sahib, Durgiana Temple, and even Sikh jathas heading to Lahore,” Mann said.

More ordinary MLAs love to take photos holding a broom for the cameras, to show their devotion to both cleanliness and godliness. When accountability is raised, MLAs respond that they have “raised the issue in the Assembly.”

Mechanical sweeping and door-to-door garbage collection, introduced by Badal during his tenure, have since been abandoned. Since the Dubai company shut shop, Ambarsariyas complain that garbage pickers are charging Rs 100 per month per home; meanwhile, sewage water stagnates for weeks, and citizens lay bricks to make walkable paths.

The problem, no doubt, is deep-seated. Since AAP came to power three and a half years ago, 12 municipal commissioners have been transferred; of the 2,400 sanctioned posts for sanitation workers, only 900 are filled and another 700 outsourced. Time and again this reporter has seen MC tenders for cleaning the city’s garbage carry the MC’s terms; once work begins, the companies’ terms prevail.

When Guru Teg Bahadur visited the village of Vallah, back in the 17th century, now within the city’s municipal limits, the elderly women of the village, opened their doors, sought forgiveness, and received his blessings. ‘Maiyan Rab Rajaiyan’, the Guru responded. Mothers, you are in God’s will.

Outside that same village today, the construction of a bridge has been stalled for four years, the road is broken, and a heap of garbage blocks the path.

Last Saturday evening, local councillor Gurinder Singh went live from that very heap on social media as devotees struggled to reach the shrine. Senior Deputy Mayor Priyanka Sharma rushed to the spot and had the garbage removed.

Indu Aurora, an activist with Voice of Amritsar, an NGO, told The Tribune, “It breaks my heart when people call Amritsar a city of garbage. Guru Ramdas truly made it the home of praise, but our rulers have turned it into this state.”

All is not forgotten, however. The spirit of kar seva prevails in parts of the city, as volunteers like Baba Kashmir Singh of Kar Sewa Bhuriwale deploy two mini-trucks and a mechanical sweeper to clean bazaars like Sultanwind Gate, Ghee Mandi, Sheranwala Gate and Gurdwara Shaheedan that lead to Darbar Sahib.

Ram Singh, spokesperson of Kar Sewa Bhuriwale, who oversees beautification projects on Upper Bari Doaba Canal, Tarn Taran Road and GT Road, humbly requests, “Please don’t call Kar Sewa a parallel government, it might upset the government.”

The story goes that when Guru Nanak visited Lahore, and witnessed the oppression of the rulers and the misery of the people, he remarked, ‘Laahaur Sehar Jehar Kehar Savaa Pehar’ (Curse is on the city of Lahore for a quarter of the day). And when the founder of Amritsar, the fourth Guru, Guru Ramdas, was born in Lahore, his predecessor, Guru Amardas, added a line to Guru Nanak’s salok (hymn), “Amrit sar sifti da ghar,” meaning “Amritsar, the home of praise.” The line may be worth remembering – next time you step on a garbage dump in Amritsar.