Discontent brews among residents over illegal gates in LIT colonies

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, June 26

The menace of putting up illegal gates on public roads and streets in most residential colonies, especially those developed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), has assumed such proportions in the entire city that the authorities concerned — be those from the LIT, the Municipal Corporation or even the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) — find it rather impossible to deal with.

Most colonies of the LIT, especially Rajguru Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, have such gates in the name of security while residents, both for and against these gates, keep fighting between themselves while the authorities keep their eyes and ears closed to the issue of public interest.

“The matter has been taken up repeatedly with LIT officials and the area councillor without evoking any response,” said a resident of the colony.

Another resident of Rajguru Nagar has alleged that putting up gates on public roads and streets was violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 19 (1)(d) of the Constitution which provides for right to free movement and make locking and blocking of roads a serious offence punishable under the law of the land.

“Not only this, Section 431 of the IPC provides for punishment of acts that render any public road impassable while Section 217 renders public servants disobeying directions of law liable to punishment, which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both,” asserts an advocate residing in one of the LIT colonies.

In private, even the LIT officials agree that sufficient legal safeguards have been provided in the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976, against creating any kind of obstruction on public streets and roads in Section 251(1)(a) but they express their helplessness in dealing with the menace in an effective manner, citing political interference and bureaucratic pressure.

The residents of gated colonies in the city, under the administrative control of the LIT, MC of GLADA, have rather given up after persistent battle and opposition to make public roads and streets inaccessible to the public while alleging that regulatory officials, most often than not, give in to the pressure.

A senior citizen residing in Rajguru Nagar colony aptly summed up the sorry state of affairs with regard to illegal gates with a shrug of helplessness saying: “Illegal gates are here to stay and we would do well to rather learn to live with them.”

Of 7 gates, only one remains open

Residents of Rajguru Nagar have brought to the notice of the LIT authorities that seven gates have been installed on various entry/exit points of which only one was kept open during the day while all others remained shut, causing inconvenience to residents and other visitors of the colony.

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