Residents struggle with poor roads, garbage disposal, drainage woes

Among the many civic issues facing Jagraon, the two most pressing are the garbage disposal, water accumulation and poor condition of roads.

As there is no proper place in Jagraon for garbage disposal, it is collected from various localities across the town and disposed of at five places in the town — Raikot Road, Disposal Road, Committee Park, Dr Hari Singh Hospital and Heera Bagh. The garbage is then disposed of at a distant place in trolleys. The situation gets worse on Saturday and Sunday when the lifting of the garbage is not done.

“The apathy of the situation is that garbage can be seen dumped near the Municipal Council office as well. There is no proper place to dispose of garbage from the town and things become difficult during monsoon season due to the stench emanating from the waste,” said Upinder Kaur, a local resident.

The poor condition of the roads is another issue that is bothering the people here. Malakpur road — passing through the main bazar and villages like Dalla, Hathur — is in bad shape.

“The roads in Hathur are in a poor shape. We got the potholes filled by spending our own money. In one part of the village sewerage is also blocked and work is being carried out to unblock it,” said a villager.

Water accumulation is another pressing issue faced by people here. It rains once and all major roads and residential areas of the town are flooded with rainwater. Poor drainage system is giving a tough time to the people of the town.

Areas including the Old Grain Market, Sabzi Mandi Road, Kamal Chowk, Sadan Market and Rani Jhansi Chowk are the worst hit.

Kamal Chowk is the iconic landmark of Jagraon but even after light rainfall it is filled with water. Ravinder Singh, a shopkeeper in Kamal Chowk, said governments change but the condition of the town remains the same.

“The place is worst affected during monsoons. After the rain, this place gets filled with water and sometimes we have to shut the shop as it is difficult to go anywhere,” he said.

The old grain market in Jagraon, is also facing various issues such as drainage, garbage and lack of amenities. The market is littered with garbage at many places and the market has poor drainage, which causes flooding and muddiness after rainfall.

President of Jagraon Municipal Council, Jatinder Pal Rana, said he was aware of the garbage issue. “The problem has arisen as there is no Municipal Council land left where garbage can be disposed of. The land owned by the council has been sold off by the previous councils. We are chalking out a plan to solve the problem and accessing its viability. Work on roads is also in progress,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke could not be contacted for her comments.