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Darkness reigns in Ward 11 of Chandigarh
A major concern of residents of this ward is the defunct streetlights that leave many stretches in the dark, raising safety concerns for residents, especially women
If there is light at the end of the tunnel, this ward is in search of it—figuratively and literally. Having several dark stretches due to defunct streetlights, women of ward 11, which has a woman councillor, say they feel unsafe to venture out after sunset.
A general ward, which includes Sectors 18, 19 and 21, residents here also complain of stray dog menace, poor sanitation and contaminated water supply. They also have grouse against councillor Asha Jaswal, who they claim, has barely ever visited their ward after winning the elections in 2017 and term her “highly unapproachable”.
Bhupinder Singh Gill, president, residents’ welfare association (RWA), Sector 19-D said: “I will give zero marks to sanitation in this sector. Sanitation workers don’t collect garbage from parks. The municipal corporation has failed to manage its sanitation workers; as a result, the area is in a mess.”
He added, “There was a community parking area near Maharashtra Bhawan but now instead of vehicles, you will find the space covered by 3-ft long wild grass.”
Gill also raised the issue of contaminated water supply.
Another resident from Sector 19-B said, “Asha Jaswal has never visited our sector to know the problems of residents. She came only once – during elections to seek votes. After winning, she stopped taking residents’ calls.”
Pradeep Chopra, general secretary, Sector 21 RWA, said, “Basically, there is no coordination between the municipal corporation’s different departments. One team cuts grass and leaves it outside the park. The other department, which is supposed to collect it, visits after a gap of three to four days.”
He added that by the time, the team comes to collect the horticulture waste left outside parks, passers-by also add to the garbage. “Our councillor had promised that an alternative place would be found for the meat and mechanics market, but that plan has never seen the light of the day,” Chopra added.
RP Gupta, a businessman from Sector 18 market, said, “The president of the market association is from BJP, so he got a lot of work done with the support of Asha Jaswal. We are grateful for a lot of pending work that has been completed in the sector.”
Kamaljit Panchi, general secretary, Sector 18 A, said, “A major problem in the sector is of stray dogs. Residents of all three sectors in this ward have complained about the menace. My wife and daughter have even stopped going for evening walks.”
Another resident of Sector 18 said, “Streetlights in majority of the parks are lying defunct and several stretches get pitch dark after sunset. Even the stretch next to Tagore Theatre isn’t well lit. I feel like inviting the councillor and asking her to take a round of the sector at night. Perhaps, then, she might realise the problems being faced by women.”
Asha Jaswal, councillor, said she had promised that she will not seek votes by apologising but by fulfilling the promise. “I have fulfilled all promises as mentioned in the manifesto. As far as the issue of stray dogs is concerned, I cannot do much as our hands are bound by the central government rules.”
“I agree there is a delay in picking horticulture waste, but we are working on it and soon, the problem will be resolved. Electric lights have been repaired in most parks, except two or three. Those will be repaired too,” she said.
Jaswal said she has been visiting the sectors, and holds meetings with residents. She said she has even made Whatsapp groups to take residents’ complaints and is quite accessible.
KNOW YOUR WARD:
Localities: Sector 18, 19, 21
General ward
15,000 voters
KEY ISSUES:
1.Defunct streetlights and dark stretches
2.Poor sanitation
2. Garbage dumps on footpaths next to parks
3. Stray dogs
4. Inaccessible councillor
Local voices
RL Goyal, resident, Sector 19 B: The main problem is lack of cleanliness. Trees are not pruned, parks are not maintained, garbage is not collected on time and areas behind houses are left unclean because of which water stagnates and vector-borne diseases like dengue spread.
Jaswinder Sharma, resident, Sector 18: Nearly two months ago, I was attacked by stray dogs when I was about to enter a park next to our house. Even today, a stray dog growled at my maid’s daughter, who got too scared to enter her own house.
Dr JC Verma, resident, Sector 21 A: Sanitation is a major issue. Earlier, the responsibility was with the RWA so it was managed well. The charges were less and garbage was collected from houses regularly. Now, the workers come on their own time. They come after several days to collect garbage from sectors.
Kuldeep Singh Gill, sector 21 B resident: RWA should be allowed to take care of the cleanliness of the sector as the MC has failed to do so. There was a broken “rehri” parked in one of the parks. After permission, I spent ₹2,000 on it and started using it for collecting garbage. But one day, the councillor asked me to return that repaired vehicle.
