Dirty ‘Heritage Walk’ route bears testimony of MC’s lack of concern

Started amid much fanfare by the Punjab tourism department in 2011, the ‘Heritage Walk’ wears a pathetic look with the authorities concerned turning a blind eye to garbage heaps piled along the route.

Started amid much fanfare by the Punjab tourism department in 2011, the ‘Heritage Walk’ wears a pathetic look with the authorities concerned turning a blind eye to garbage heaps piled along the route.

Amritsar-Municipal-Corporation-N-HT-Photo

Municipal officials and the administration, which had swung into action following the launch of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seemed to have gone back to their old ways.

The project, which was launched to showcase old bazaars, streets and structures thousands of tourists visiting the holy city everyday, lacks sanitary conditions, making a mockery of the entire idea.

As you take the Heritage Walk route, heaps of garbage and encroachments welcome you. It is not just
eyesore, but also gives a poor impression to the tourists taking the route.

The Heritage Walk, which starts from the Town Hall, passes through various streets and bazaars, including famous Jalebi Chowk, Gurdwara Saragarhi, Chitta Akhara, Galliara and other important places and bazaars.

All along the route, tourists are shown old structures, houses, paintings, etc, to impress them about the preserved history of the holy city. However, the municipal corporation (MC), which makes tall claims of making city clean, has fallen flat in ensuring a cleaner Heritage Walk route.

Though not only the Heritage Walk, the entire city faces major civic woes on regular basis. With the politics over dumping of garbage getting intense, unsanitary conditions prevailed in the city.

Moreover, the ambitious Solid Waste Management Plant of the MC is yet to take off for proper disposal off city garbage.

Municipal commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, said, “We have a team in place for sanitation of the city and if there are certain problems, we will definitely ensure that things get better sooner.”