Early Times Report
Jammu, May 29: Editor Early Times, Munish Gupta, who would contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the Gandhi Nagar segment as an Independent candidate, on Wednesday met people from all walks of life at Lower Gadigarh and other adjoining mohallas of Bhargav Public School and its opposite mohalla.
Locals told Munish that tall claims of the government that every household in Jammu and Kashmir has been provided with a toilet are a hoax as nearly twenty houses in Lower Gadigarh areas have no toilet facilities. “Poor residents attend nature’s call in open or at nearby nallah (Nikki Tawi),” they said.
“We repeatedly requested the former MLA Kavinder Gupta and MLC Vikram Randhawa to construct toilets under union government’s scheme when they visited the area during the campaign for municipal and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. They assured us that it would be done but after leaving the area they forgot their promise,” said local Ashok Kumar who work as labour.
“I have three children and one is twelve year old but due to non availability of toilet in my house, they face lot of humiliation and embarrassment,” Kumar added.
It is not saga of Ashok Kumar only, his own brother Joginder Pal who is residing just adjacent to Ashok Kumar’s home too has no toilet facilities. Like duo there are more than one dozen houses in the area that have no toilets.
Residents told Munish that despite the Union Government giving all the funds for construction of individual and community toilets no one has come forward to help them. “Our own Sarpanch didn’t help us for the reasons best known to him,” locals said.
Rajinder Kumar a local of Lower Gadigarh area, residing near the Bhargav Public School said that they have always stood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will stand with him because he is strongest leader in India. “Unfortunately our own MLA (Kavinder Gupta) never heard our voice. If he (Kavinder Gupta) comes here again to seek our vote we will never vote for him again,” Kumar said.
During the Municipal Election 2018, the Gadigarh area came under the municipal limit but till date not a single dustbin has been installed in the area, Kumar added.
Locals told Munish that few years ago, the former MLA constructed a nallah from his Constituency Development Fund from Gadigarh to Bhour Chattha. This nallah flows in middle of the drain, posing threat to pedestrian and it emanates foul smell. “We asked the MLC Randhawa and MLA Kavinder Gupta to get this nallah covered but they did not pay any attention and just ignored us,” they added. |
