Once home to fuel station, Ladowali road turns into garbage dump

Avneet Kaur

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Jalandhar, August 7

When it comes to guessing a thing found most common on roads, markets, public places and residential colonies here, the very first image popping up in mind is that of a garbage dump. Heaps of waste lying unattended at every nook and cranny of the city has, as if, penetrated the subconscious side.

Roshni, a commuter, said, “The condition of the road speaks of the sorry state of the affairs of so-called Smart City Jalandhar.”

Moreover, at this time of the season when cleanliness needs to be a priority for the Municipal Corporation (MC), it seems like the officials are done with the job. The Ladowali road – the half stretch of which has turned into a dump yard — leading to the District Administrative Complex and SSP (rural) office is a crystal clear picture shredding to pieces the claims of the civic body’s ‘Clean and Green Jalandhar’.

The commuters complained that during the rains, heaps of waste flows from roadside and intersection towards the center of road, rendering severe inconvenience. “The road is the main route to DC office, PUDA Complex and many residential colonies, but still none bothers about its upkeep. The condition is really deplorable. Stray dogs and cattle keep making rounds of the heap time and again, but still none bothers about its maintenance”, said Kanwaljeet Singh, a shopkeeper.

The empty plot on the road used to be a fuel station – now, seemingly a midden. “It’s been years now that the petrol pump has been closed and the plot has been converted into dumping ground. Many times shopkeepers, residents of nearby localities have apprised MC about the poor garbage lying unattended here, but they never paid heed to our pleas,” Singh told.

A resident of the P&T Colony said, “We can’t permit our children to play or even take a dog for a walk. The conditions of the area just don’t allow. The garbage is a threat to our health and an invitation to many diseases, but no one has bothered to tour the area and ask about our problems.”

Meanwhile, when contacted, Mayor Jagdish Raja, said the MC has on many occasions lifted the garbage from the site but a section of residents, shopkeepers from the area wash away all the efforts by dumping waste time and again. “The councilor of the area in the past had carried out many sanitation drives and got the waste lifted, but the residents have failed to maintain the cleanliness”, he added.