Palampur Ward Watch Ghuggar Tanda : Residents rue bad roads, overflowing drains

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, March 2

Ghuggar Tanda, the most urbanised ward of the Palampur Municipal Corporation, is situated on the outskirts of the town and is one of the most thickly populated wards with a population of over 7,000.

A number of housing colonies have come up in the ward in the past 10 years. Most big hotels of the town are also situated here.

However, the ward lacks all basic amenities like sewerage, proper drainage and good roads. Despite the “VIP area” tag attached with the ward, its condition is like any other ward of the Palampur MC where little development is seen. VIPs like former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, many retired IAS officers, Army officers and engineers have settled in the ward.

Before the formation of the Municipal Corporation, the Ward 5 was part of Ghuggar panchayat, which was the biggest panchayat in Kangra district at that time. The ward has witnessed rapid urbanisation as it is situated barely 500 metre from the heart of the town.

Pothole-riddled roads and streets, overflowing drains and contaminated drinking water speak volumes about the sorry state of affairs of the ward, which is fast turning into a slum in the absence of proper planning.

Large-scale illegal constructions have made the matter worse, while a number of shops and other commercial buildings have come up in this ward without the approval of the MC and Town and Country Planning Department. The issue is in the knowledge of municipal authorities, but they have failed to act against the violators. Almost all interior roads and streets of the ward are in a bad shape.

Residents find it difficult to move on the Ram Chowk-Tanda road due to overflowing drains and leaking water pipes.

Despite a regular garbage collection system in place, garbage can be seen littered in several parts of the ward. There is no sewerage system, which has further aggravated the situation.

On the Tanda road, a number of illegal shops have come up on prime government land which has squeezed the road to 3 m. Residents of the ward say that despite repeated complaints to the PWD and Forest departments no action has been taken against illegal shops and encroachments, which have become a traffic hazard.

At Ram Chowk and Santoshi Mata Mandir Chowk, traffic jams are a norm. Traffic snarls are common on the narrow Palampur-Dharmshala highway that passes through the ward. The width of the road is the same as it was 30 years ago even as the number of vehicles has increase manifold.

Municipal Commissioner Ashish Sharma said all problems of this ward were already in his knowledge.

“Efforts are in the pipeline to resolve the issues. Paver tiles have already been laid in most of the internal roads and streetlights installed. However, most of the road drains are under the PWD and are to be maintained by the department. The MC has little scope to repair these roads and drains,” he added.