Residents block road during protest against sewage overflow in Ludhiana

Residents protested over the poor condition of Rahon road and sewer water accumulation on the road and adjoining residential areas

Residents and members of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) staged a protest against the municipal corporation (MC) on Monday over the poor condition of Rahon road and sewer water accumulation on the road and adjoining residential areas.

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Protesters blocked the road due to which the movement of traffic got disturbed for around half an hour. Residents and shopkeepers rued that they have been raising hue and cry over the pathetic and unhygienic conditions of the road for months, but the civic body has failed to pay heed to the problem.

They said that ongoing work of installing sewer lines on the road has resulted in deep potholes which have also resulted in many accidents.

BSP’s district secretary, Naresh Basra, said, “Residents are bearing the brunt of the lackadaisical approach being adopted by civic body officials. Sewer water has now accumulated in the residential area and residents have also been complaining against contaminated water supply. The entire road is in bad shape and accidents take place daily due to deep potholes. The authorities are working to install new lines in the area, but should atleast fill the potholes at points where lines have already been installed.”

On October 2, residents of Jain Colony in Rahon Road had also staged a protest over the same issues.

Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Jain Colony, said they are continuously living under the threat of an epidemic as sewer water is accumulated on the streets and vacant plots in the area.

“Foul smell spreads throughout the entire area and sewer lines have been choked, but the authorities are not paying heed to the problem,” he said.

MC superintending engineer, Rajinder Singh, said that a new sewer line is being installed to resolve the problem.

“The work to install the sewer line is almost complete and residents will see a visible change in terms of sewer water accumulation in around 10 to 12 days. The civic body has also started the work to repair the road, which got damaged due to the ongoing project of installing sewer lines,” he said.