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Ludhiana court complex blast: 18 months on, public washrooms continue to remain locked
Though officials concerned are passing the buck , visitors are facing a lot of inconvenience on a daily basis; the explosion took place in the washroom on the second floor of the building
Even after the passage of one-and-a-half years of the court complex explosion in Ludhiana, all public washrooms in the complex are still locked. The explosion took place in the washroom on the second floor of the building.
Though officials concerned are passing the buck regarding the same, visitors are facing a lot of inconvenience on a daily basis.
A powerful bomb blast had rocked the District Court Complex killing one person, supposedly the suspect, and injuring five others on December 23, 2021. The incident occurred on the second floor of the court building, which is just adjoining the District Administrative Complex.
Not only the collapsed walls of the men’s washroom on the second floor have been repaired but also the rest of the washrooms are locked. The new court complex witnesses heavy footfall daily. At least 20,000 to 23,000 people, including advocates, their staff and police personnel, visit the court complex daily. However, they have no option but to use the washrooms built for advocates, which remain occupied all the time.
Advocate Simranjit Singh said washrooms are the basic facility that should be available at every public place, but the authorities have locked all the washrooms after the bomb blast.
He added that they have urged the district and sessions judge and the deputy commissioner many times in this regard, but to no avail.
Gurlal Singh, a visitor, said, “There are separate washrooms for advocates and court staff which visitors are not allowed to use. Not even a single washroom is open to the public in the entire court complex.
He added that he visited the court complex for the hearing of a case. He was forced to leave the complex in search of a public washroom. He went to a nearby hotel to use the washroom. He urged the authorities concerned to open the public washrooms so that people should not suffer due to the lack of basic amenities.
He said the authorities had locked the washroom where the bomb had exploded, but what is logic behind locking other public washrooms.
Chetan Verma, president, District Bar Association, Ludhiana, said, “I have requested the district and session judge as well as the deputy commissioner for the same as thousands of visitors are facing this problem since the bomb blast rocked the court complex in 2021. People are also urinating alongside the compound wall of the court complex.”
A court official requesting anonymity said they had sent the request to the public works department (PWD) but haven’t got any response in this regard. Multiple meetings were convened regarding the renovation of the washrooms, but to no avail.
Amit Soni, SDO, PWD, said that the officials from the high court have approved the budget of ₹1.84 lakh for the renovation of the washroom which was damaged during the bomb blast. The tendering for the same will be floated within a week and the washroom will be renovated within two months.
When contacted, deputy commissioner Surabhi Malik said that she will look into the matter and will take appropriate action.
