Kala Sanghian drain a bane of residents staying nearby

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 8

The Kala Sanghian drain is one of the major issues and an old problems of the city, which has not been resolved even after several years.

It lies just 50 metres away from Maqsuda flyover and passes through Baba Balak Nath colony and Bhagat Singh Colony. With foul smell emanating from the drain filled with dirt, garbage, filth and sludge, it is not easy to stand at the spot for long. But there are thousands of residents, who have been living on both sides of the drain since decades.

The drain covers various localities, including Gadaipur, Focal Point, Kalia Colony, Sanjay Gandhi Colony, Seth Hukum Chand Colony and Surya Vihar among others and extends till the end of the MC limit.

Padma Shri Balbir Singh Seechewal, an environmentalist, while talking to The Tribune, said it was a dream to see Kala Sanghian drain in a good condition. “There has been an outbreak of several diseases because of the bad condition of the drain and residents suffer a lot. Because of Covid, I couldn’t go to see the current situation, but I keep on asking the authorities about it. Now, we are hopeful that the drain will get cleaned as the matter is being taken into consideration seriously,” Seechewal said.

The three-member monitoring committee, constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), had visited the city along with environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal last year and had inspected the Kala Sanghian drain. The NGT team, after monitoring the drain’s condition, expressed dissatisfaction.

For residents of colonies situated on both sides of the drain, which is now called Ganda Nullah, diseases including dysentery, malaria, skin problems and jaundice are common.

Jagdish Samrai, member of the health and sanitation ad hoc committee and councillor Ward No. 78, on Monday met MC Commissioner Karnesh Sharma and requested him to make sure that Kala Sanghian drain, commonly known as Ganda Nullah among locals, be cleaned.

With every passing year, the condition of the drain is deteriorating and people residing in the areas near it are facing health problems, as there is stench in the air and it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and also poses threat of jaundice outbreak and in some cases, causes cancer.

Samrai said the pandemic had already worsened the situation for people and the poor condition of the drain was only proving a double whammy for them.