| In Nai Basti, Pt Mohan Lal Park, road in shambles, thanks to ex-MLA | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, June 22: Despite being in power since 2014 in the Centre and the state, and huge inflow of funds, the BJP could not meet expectation of the residents of Nai Basti, a part of Gandhi Nagar constituency represented by former Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta in the assembly before dissolution of assembly by the Governor last year.
During Early Times' team visit, Pt. Mohan Lal park residents narrated their ordeal. They said the area was "deliberately ignored" by Kavinder Gupta who did not visit the area after winning last assembly polls.
"The drain along market opposite to Rampura remains choked most of the time. We approached the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) to seek cleaning of the drain. Today some labourers from the corporation removed the garbage and de-silted it," said Ashok Gupta, a shopkeeper.
"The labourers who came for cleaning the drain informed us that JMC's vehicle will come and pick it", they said, adding that the vehicle was lying in the area since afternoon and "we covered it with empty cartons."
The locals shared some surprising facts with the team. "Since the park is very huge, it has been divided in three parts. To keep it clean, I adopted middle portion of park and I am maintaining that for long time on my own", said Suresh Kumar, owner of a hair saloon.
Similarly a portion is being maintained by an old man. "He is also cleaning a major portion of the park by removing and burning the weeds", he added.
Tilak Raj, a retired PDD employee, and his brother Chaman Lal, who also retired from PDD, sitting on the bench, said that they have only common place to sit, but it is in shambles as neither the Floriculture department nor the JMC own it.
They further said that water and power supplies in area also playing hide and seek. "If PHE releases water in the morning, power goes missing, and in the absence of electricity it is impossible to fill tanks", they said.
Darshan Singh, Bharat Bhushan, Kharaiti Lal, Kuldeep Singh, Tarsaim Lal, Amar Nath, Pritam Lal, Sukhdev Singh and Yash Pal Gupta-all residents of the same locality shared similar problems with the Early Times.
"In 2014, during the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, and later in 2019 LS polls, we all voted for the BJP. But unfortunately, our MLA, who has been Speaker and Deputy CM too did not bother to meet us after being elected", they said. They said once he came accompanied by dozens of officers and policemen and asked to give our consent to remove slope over the nullah that was laid during Raman Bhalla's time on our repeated requests. "We all opposed his model of development, and finally he left this place for good", they said. |
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