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Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, January 17
The abject unsanitary conditions and total lack of sweeping and lifting of garbage in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar, a 475- acre colony developed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) on Pakholwa Road here, literally mocks the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, launched with much fanfare by the Modi-led government at the Centre.
Residents of the colony, especially those in block E, are forced to live amidst heaps of garbage, domestic waste and wild growth of weeds. Officials of the LIT are apparently being insensitive to the grave health hazard, which residents of the area face.
Residents alleged that the contract for maintaining cleanliness at the colony had expired a couple of months ago. Trust officials had failed to take necessary steps for its timely renewal or invite fresh bids for the work from contractors, they added.
“At present, there is no arrangement for sweeping roads, streets and lifting of garbage from dumps,” they said.
Other area residents — Amarjit Singh and Lynia Sharda Sharma — said negligence of Trust officials in making timely arrangements for sanitation in the colony was a criminal lapse and had put thousands of lives in danger from unhygienic conditions.
“Officials responsible for this lapse should be identified and action be taken against them under rules for failure to discharge their duty diligently,” they demanded.
Meanwhile, LIT officials said the Trust had adopted a resolution for renewal of the contract for sanitation, which was awaiting nod from the Local Government Department.
“We are thinking in terms of awarding the sanitation work in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on monthly basis to a private agency, which is within competence of the Trust norms. Necessary action in this regard has already been initiated,” said an official.
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