Jalandhar: Road washed away in floods, administration yet to assist Dhakka Basti residents

Tribune News Service

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, May 26

“Asi nark vich jee rahe haan, ethe kaun aayega vote mangan? (We are living in hell, who would come here to ask for vote), an enraged elderly from Dhakka Basti village asked questioning the indifference of the leaders and authorities towards them.

12-year-old Suneha Kaur from the area used to go to her school in Mundi Cholian village by a cycle that was washed away in floods last year. Not only did she lose her cycle, but a proper ‘way’ towards her school too. Now she goes to her school by walking through agricultural fields in the sweltering heatwave for over one km.

“Ek saal ho gaya, saanu kisi ne nai pucheya. The ‘shank bundh’ that was swept away in the floods was the only way, but, now we use fields to go either side of the village,” said farmer Daler Singh from Gatta Mundi Kasu village expressing anger against the government.

Dhakka Basti is the part of Gatta Mundi Kasu panchayat. Elections are in some days, and the political parties have been visiting people everywhere asking for votes, but the villagers living in Dhakka Basti in the Lohian block of the Shahkot sub-division have lost hope and have been expressing disappointment with the government for apathy towards their plight. “Eh punjab da pind hai, Pakistan da nai,” Daler Singh further rued. He added that in a month, monsoon will arrive and if the ‘shank bundh’ is not constructed properly, the villages will be flooded again.

Tired of taking up the matter with the authorities, the people of Gatta Mundi Kasu, a nearby village have started constructing the bundh on their own by shelving money from their own pockets and with the help of some good samaritans.

Last year floods wreaked havoc on villages situated near the dhussi bundh and Dhakka Basti was the worst-affected. The village is situated near the Dhussi bundh. Even after the breaches in Dhussi bundh were plugged, the ‘shank bundh’ was not constructed again. Notably, there are more than 50 households in Dhakka Basti. The majority of those living are daily wagers and are financially and poverty-stricken.

The Tribune reached the village to see the condition of the residents. It was a difficult ride on the bike for around one km till the last house in the village. There are still many people who are living in tents, broken houses without toilets, and the unforgiving heat is only making the lives of villagers here hell. A young girl living under tents embarrassingly shared that she was relieving herself in the open.

There is a government primary school in the village too and the teachers from other villages go with much difficulty to teach the students.

The drainage department officials claimed that the tenders for the construction of the bundh were already floated early this year and the process was on.

Regarding the issue, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said, “I will check with drainage department officials regarding the issue. If nothing has yet been done in this regard, I’ll take action accordingly.”

Broken houses, no toilets

Last year floods wreaked havoc on villages situated near the dhussi bundh and Dhakka Basti was the worst-affected. The village is situated near the Dhussi bundh. Even after the breaches in Dhussi bundh were plugged, the ‘shank bundh’ was not constructed again. Notably, there are more than 50 households in Dhakka Basti. The majority of those living are daily wagers and are financially and poverty-stricken. The Tribune observed that there are still many people who are living in tents, broken houses without toilets, and the unforgiving heat is only making the lives of Dhakka Basti residents hell.

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