Overflowing pond water damages road to agri varsity research station

Raj Sadosh

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Abohar, July 1

Dirty water overflowing from ponds in some villages has damaged roads. This is because ponds have not been cleaned and desilted before the onset of rains for about an year.

After Chanankhera village where people wade through contaminated water overflowing from a pond to reach their destinations, people at Seed Farm in Nihalkhera village have also highlighted a similar problem. They criticised the administration for laxity towards resolving the issue.

Drive to improve sanitation

A campaign to clean ponds could have improved sanitation in villages. Village labourers could have been employed under MGNREGA to improve general hygiene. It’s unfortunate that village ponds have turned into pits of filth. Hira Lal, Environmentalist

At Seed Farm in Pakka village, 4 km from here, water overflows from a pond and has damaged the road that links the regional research station of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) with Abohar city. Residents Kulwinder Singh and Kartar Singh said youths were motivated to shun drugs and other social evils by forming a sports club but the playground had been inundated for the past few weeks. During summer vacations, students were unable to use the ground and nearby small parks.

The village panchayat has not been able to get the pond cleaned. Panchayat Department officials had told the elected representatives of rural bodies that proposals for such works were awaiting clearance from the state headquarters.

Environmentalist Hira Lal and others in Nihalkhera village, 10 km from here, said it was unfortunate that village ponds, which used to be centres of civilisation, had turned into pits of filth.

Meanwhile, residentsstaged a dharna at the “chaupal” (common place) and demanded that dirty water that had entered Nihalkhera village should be drained out immediately by the department concerned. They said village streets had become breeding ground of mosquitoes. They urged panchayat members to get the problem resolved.