Clogged sewers, littered streets, govt apathy bane of Doraha residents

Years have passed, rulers have changed, but dingy streets and overflowing sewers seem to have become permanent in Doraha. The town stinks due to clogged drains. The pipes installed for this purpose do not have the capacity to hold it all, leading to overflowing or bursting, and as a result, streets get inundated with sewer water.

Samita Kaur Mangat, the founder of People for Environment, rued that the town had refused to change thanks to the apathy and procrastination of the authorities concerned. “Our team has time and again visited the Municipal Council and spoken about the dismal state of affairs in the small town. There is no check on the waste disposal system and safai karamcharis dump garbage whereever they find an empty space. This leads to sewers clogging. The authorities concerned have not made any preparations for the upcoming summer, when mosquitoes and flies multiply, making the surroundings hellish for locals. An effective implementation of resources is poorly lacking in the council,” she added.

“Seldom is any work initiated in the town, and if at all it is started, it is left in the lurch and nothing substantial comes out of it. Doraha, it seems, needs a thorough revamping. Even the basic amenities are lacking in the town,” shared Jagjiwan Pal Singh Gill, a resident.

“We are the worst sufferers. Only we can tell what we have to go through in such conditions, which have been prevailing for years. Time and again the sewers get clogged, leaving residents and passers-by high and dry. You have to hold your breath if you have to pass through a number of the streets in the town. Sewers fill to the brim and overflow, making it hard for people to walk,” said Pawan Kumar Kaushal, another resident of the place.

“Passers-by have to pass through this hell once in a while, but people who reside here have to live with it. Sometimes it feels like we eat, drink and inhale sewerage,” said another resident.

An SDO of Punjab Pollution Control Board shared that they had visited the town to investigate a complaint received from People for Environment and asked the executive officer of the municipal council to initiate the necessary amends. “If the situation continues to be the same, we will definitely hold a recheck and ask them to comply with the orders,” he said.