A perennial puddle of woes for commuters, villagers near Phillaur

The dharna by residents of several villages in Phillaur against a puddle of stagnant water under the Phillaur flyover, which has made the lives of residents of the area miserable, entered the 17th day today.

It is on the road which leads to the famous Darbar Maiya Bhagwan Ji in Phillaur, a convent school and further to the Ladhowal toll plaza. Hence, villagers, devotees and parents who are taking their kids to the school and back are all inconvenienced alike. While the problem has persisted for years despite complaints, during the current monsoon, villagers are facing more trouble.

Commuters on two-wheelers and children are the worst affected, while four wheelers sometimes get stuck in the ankle-deep water, which gets even deeper in the centre of the puddle.

The issue has also led to arguments between villagers of Ramgarh and Jagatpura (Panjdheran). Drainage water residue from Ramgarh dhabas and some houses leads to water accumulation, due to which Ramgarh residents want the water routed to the Jagatpura village sewage pond .This has split the Jagatpura panchayat into two factions — half in its favour and half against it.

Devotees of the Darbar Maiya Bhagwan Ji held a dharna on April 22, after which the local BDPO promised a resolution of the issue (by routing water through pipes to the nearest sewage pond) and work had also started in this regard. However, with work again being halted midway, another dharna of residents began on July 7 under the Lok Insaaf Manch, Phillaur.

Manch leader Karnail Phillaur said, “There have been many accidents of two wheelers and children going to school. SUV or MUVs manage to pass through, but smaller vehicles have to wade through deep waters, leading to accidents and serious damage to vehicles at times. For leaders, this is a ‘trivial’ issue. But all villagers in the area, students and devotees have to go through a harrowing ordeal on this stretch. We are sick of this persisting problem and of getting our vehicles repaired every second day.”

Villagers have been holding dharnas at various sites, raising slogans against the BDPO, state panchayat minister and the state government like ‘Gande pani di nikasi da parbandh karo’, ‘BDPO murdabad’, etc., and even burnt effigies. On July 23 they held a protest outside the residence of AAP’s Phillaur halqa in charge Prem Kumar. Tarsem Singh Dhillon, BKU Doaba leader, also lent support to the dharna on its 12th day, along with the union’s district president Ajit Singh Dhesi, block president Balwinder Singh Khaira among other leaders.

Dhillon said, “The governments and administration haven’t tried to find a proper solution. BDPOs and panchayats must get the stagnant water cleared. It is shameful that every day devotees to the holy shrine have to walk through this puddle. The Bharti Kisan Union Doaba stands with the villagers in their protest.”

Phillaur BDPO Rajinder Kaur said, “We had got the work started earlier, but due to some issue among villagers it had to be stopped. The permission to restart the work has been sought from the DC, which will be received soon. We are hoping that within a couple of days the work to route water to the sewage pond at Panjdheran village will be restarted again.”

Jalandhar