 Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 15: In view of the grave deterioration of civic amenities in Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar (GTB Nagar), Channi Rama Bypass, Jammu, a delegation led by Mr. Balwinder Singh, RTI/Social Activist and Vice President, District Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DGPC), Jammu, along with Mr. Ajit Singh (President), Mr. Jagjeet Singh (Cashier), Mr. Dilbagh Singh and Ms. Arvinder Kour, Members of the Local Committee, today called on Ms. Mandeep Kour, IAS, Commissioner/Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD).
The delegation submitted a detailed memorandum highlighting the alarming civic conditions prevailing in GTB Nagar, Sector-I, and strongly urged that the area—presently falling under Panchayat Malik Market—be brought under the jurisdiction of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) at the earliest.
GTB Nagar, established in the revered name of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, the Ninth Sikh Guru, is a secular and composite locality where residents from diverse regions and communities have coexisted peacefully for decades. Despite its strategic location barely three kilometres from JMC Headquarters and along the National Highway Bypass near Wave Mall, the area continues to remain outside municipal limits, resulting in severe administrative neglect.
The delegation apprised the Commissioner/Secretary of unchecked civic violations, including overflowing open drains, indiscriminate dumping of garbage, obstruction of roads by illegal structures, and encroachment upon public drains and thoroughfares. Residents reported that the absence of municipal oversight has rendered living conditions unhygienic, unsafe, and particularly distressing for women, children, and senior citizens. It was further brought to notice that residents opposing illegal encroachments are facing intimidation instead of institutional protection.
The delegation emphasized that inclusion of GTB Nagar within JMC—on the pattern of similarly placed localities such as Bathindi—is the only lawful and sustainable solution to ensure sanitation, infrastructure development, and enforcement of civic regulations.
Ms. Mandeep Kour, IAS, patiently heard the delegation and assured them that she would make her best efforts to include GTB Nagar within JMC limits during the delimitation of municipal wards prior to the forthcoming Urban Local Bodies elections, strictly in accordance with statutory procedures and legal provisions. |
