Newer parts of Chandigarh ailing too

Stray dog menace, garbage dumps in vacant areas, broken street lights have residents feeling miffed in ward number 35

Even though parts of ward number 35 of the Chandigarh municipal corporation fall under the third phase of the city development plan, here too, a number of civic issues exist.

Vacant areas in Sector 48 have been turned into dump yards, leading to insanitation, complain residents. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

The ward comprises Sector 48, Sector 49, Sector 50 and Sector 63. Before the fresh delimitation, these areas came under wards 13 and 22.

Stray dog menace, poorly maintained vacant lands and absence of a regular bus service are among the key issues faced by residents here.

Even though door-to-door garbage collection takes place in these sectors, there still remain pockets where garbage is dumped on vacant land pieces. Residents also complain about broken streets at many places.

Ravinder Singh Nagpal, 68, a resident of Sector 49, said, “Cleanliness is missing in certain pockets and vacant plots have become dump yards. A regular bus service is also required in the ward.”

A common sentiment echoed by many residents is that completion certificates should be awarded to housing societies in a fixed time, as they have been pending for years now.

They also raised the issue that MC should undertake internal maintenance of the housing societies in every respect as they pay property tax as well as internal maintenance charges to the society managements.

A resident of Sector 48, who did not wish to be named, said, “Although MC is actively fixing whatever issues come here, some of the vacant spaces have been turned into garbage dumping zones. Further the ward is adjacent to villages like Jagatpura in Punjab from where many rowdy and unruly drivers frequently enter the city and drive dangerously.”

Residents also complained about unhygienic surroundings near the motor market in Sector 48. In Sector 49, they said sometimes the street lights do not work properly at night. “Street light repair work is needed in some areas,” said Bhupinder Kumar, a shopkeeper in Sector 49.

Moving to Sector 63, even though the area is smaller compared to other sectors, residents here also have a list of problems to show. They complained about lack of night security, stray cattle and dilapidated parks.

Dharmvir Ahuja, 64, a resident of Sector 63, said, “Although the flats here are newly constructed, the water pipelines were broken within a few years and the residents had to replace them on their own. We do not have any nearby market. A beat box for law and order issue is also missing.”

Know your ward:

Localities: Sector 48, Sector 49, Sector 50 and Sector 63

General ward

Voters: 24,000

Key issues:

Stray dog menace

Poorly maintained vacant lands

No regular bus service

Broken street lights

Stray cattle

Dilapidated parks

Local voices:

There is no cleanliness at certain pockets and vacant lands here are not maintained well. A regular bus service should be provided in the area.

Ravinder Singh Nagpal, a resident of Sector 49

Several roads need repairs. Sometimes the street lights do not turn on properly.

Bhupinder Kumar, a shopkeeper in Sector 49

Even though the flats are newly constructed, water pipelines broke within a few years. There is no market nearby.

Dharmvir Ahuja, a resident of Sector 63

The park here is poorly maintained and stray cattle menace also needs to be addressed.

Rakesh Monga, a resident of Sector 63