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Ludhiana: Dhandari Khurd residents irked over poor living conditions
The residents of Dhandari Khurd, ward number 28 have raised concerns over the unhygienic living conditions, filthy streets, open garbage dump and a lingering foul smell.
The residents of Dhandari Khurd, ward number 28 have raised concerns over the unhygienic living conditions, filthy streets, open garbage dump and a lingering foul smell. They alleged that despite extensive media coverage and public outrage, the local authorities have left them to live in dire conditions for decades.
People claimed that the untreated drainage water released from the nearby dying units inundates their lanes. They are helpless to walk through it, falling victims to skin rashes.
A local pharmacist Gurpreet Singh said that we pay out taxes, but the authorities have abandoned us. We have protested many times in front of the dying units and MCL office, but they turned a blind eye to our concerns. They tout their smart city projects in posh areas but pay no heed to Dhandari Khurd.
“Fed up with the deteriorating conditions and no redressal, I have decided to move out of this place to provide better surroundings to my family,” he added.
Another resident Rinku, who has a grocery shop said the overflow of sewage water has severely hit his business as no one wants to visit this street where he faced loss up to 50%.
MC officials attribute the situation to the large population of migrant workers living in slums, who, they claim, clog the sewage pipes by carelessly discarding single-use plastics, water bottles, and chip packets.
The slums which lack proper drainage channels accommodate over 100 people in one house, putting an excessive load on the existing drainage channel, officials said.
Notably, municipal corporation planned to install a static compactor near this dump to treat solid waste but failed to implement its operation after facing local protest.
In June 2023, residents of Dhandari Khurd had protested the installation of this compactor citing its placement near a land meant for children’s playground and cremation ground.
MCL zone B sub-divisional officer (operations and maintenance) Kamal Joria said that he has made efforts to resolve the issue by deploying a super suction machine to clean the sewage five times in two years, at a cost of ₹80,000.
“According to protocol, this machine should be used once every three years, but the lack of civic sense among the residents has exacerbated the sewage accumulation problem. We have planned to conduct an awareness programme on proper waste disposal on Monday”, he added.
