Gurdaspur village in troubled waters, courtesy caste divide

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, June 26

Nearly 1,600 residents of Khojepur village, 3 km from here, are living in inhuman conditions as a sharp divide between Scheduled Caste Mashas and upper caste Jat Sikhs is keeping the issue of waterlogging simmering.

Sewage from households, which accumulates in narrow alleys, has no outlet making the entire village waterlogged. This has led to an outbreak of a number of diseases.

The Tribune in September last year had published the plight of the hamlet, following which Gurdaspur DC Vipul Ujwal accompanied by officials of 14 departments, including Health and Water Supply and Sanitation, reached the spot and tried to find a solution, but to no avail. Water samples were collected, but the results are not known to date.

Politics is said to be another reason behind the unending problem. Village sarpanch Jyoti Bala owes allegiance to Dinanagar (Reserved) MLA and Cabinet minister Aruna Chaudhury. The nearby agricultural fields, which have the capacity to absorb the excess water, are owned by the Jat Sikhs.

The divide between the communities is too palpable to be dismissed. In February this year, a clash took place between the Mashas and the Jats and an FIR was registered. It was perceived to be an altercation between Chaudhury’s men and the Akali-minded Jat Sikhs.

A majority of the population belongs to the SC community here.

Five months down the line, the political equations have changed but nothing has changed for the poor villagers. Jyoti Bala now says that Chaudhury was unwilling to help them for “reasons best known to the legislator”.

“MLA or no MLA, things are simply not moving. To make things worse, water from a nearby pond reverses its flow and enters the houses during monsoon. Every second day we have to take somebody to the Civil Hospital. We have nothing against the Jats or the Akalis. All we want is to find a solution to drain out the contaminated water,” said Pardeep Kumar, a relative of the sarpanch.

The DC, however, claimed that his officers were trying to make the Jats see the reason. “The paddy sowing season is on during which water can be used in their fields. It used to happen earlier but somehow they are not allowing it to enter their landholdings now. I have asked the District Development and Panchayat Officer to submit a report on this at the earliest,” he added.

Situation worse, administration apathetic

• Sewage from households accumulates in narrow alleys and has no outlet, which has led to flooding of the entire Khojepur village in Gurdaspur

• This has resulted in outbreak of a number of diseases in the area

• The Tribune in September last year had published the plight of the hamlet, following which Gurdaspur DC Vipul Ujwal along with officials of 14 departments reached the spot and collected water samples, the results of which are not known to date