Life an ordeal in Punjab CM’s ancestral village Mehraj

Sameer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 15

Mehraj — Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s ancestral village in Rampura block of Bathinda — presents a picture of utter neglect these days.

Streets are inundated with sewer water and residents have to wade through it to move in and out of their houses. Interestingly, the foundation stone for the sewerage was laid by Capt Amarinder himself in 2002. It worked fine for initial few years, but started developing problems due to lack of proper maintenance. The situation becomes terrible during the rainy season.

Villagers have repeatedly brought the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned, but to no avail.

A villager said: “Nagar panchayat members tried to put things in place, but nothing much could be achieved. Many residents blame the present situation on the replacement of drainage pipes during the SAD-BJP regime, but there has been no improvement even after the Congress returned to power in 2017.”

Singh said, “Wading through knee-deep stinking water has become a daily ordeal. There may be an outbreak of waterborne diseases in the village.” Even the Yadavindra Stadium, named after the CM’s father, is inundated with water, Gurtej added.

Sewerage board SDO Gurcharan Singh said, “The work for the installation of a new treatment plant is underway. There are no separate pipelines for the drainage of rainwater. Moreover, we have not received any funds for the cleaning of pipelines.”

Deputy Commissioner B Srinivasan could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.