Under MC for over 2 yrs now, nothing much has changed for this UT village

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 4

Sarangpur village, nestled between Chandigarh and New Chandigarh, has witnessed two major events in the past few years. The first was when MP Kirron Kher adopted the village under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana of the Centre in 2014 and the second was when the village was taken over by the Municipal Corporation from the UT Administration in the end of 2018.

After it was adopted by Kher, the village gained popularity and several projects were initiated. However, civic issues still plague Sarangpur.

Even after coming under the purview of the civic body over two years ago, not much improvement has been witnessed with regard to civic problems.

"All works were stalled after the MC took over. Cleaning of the gutters is not done properly here. For one and a half years, several streetlights have been non-functional. The sewer system is quite old and is inadequate to cater to the present population. It must be replaced, but no one is taking a note," said Sadhu Singh, a former sarpanch of the village.

After the local MP adopted the village, a sports stadium, community centre, civil dispensary and veterinary hospital came up here. This was the only village in Chandigarh to get so many facilities in a span of a few years.

However, all is still not well with the village. "The sports ground is of no use to us. It is closed for us. The authorities have told villagers to get registration cards made to enter the ground. Youngsters in the village want to play all games, but can't," said Nanak Singh, a resident of Sarangpur.

Nanak said at the animal hospital, there was a doctor, but no medicines or injections. It disappoints residents.

As far as the community centre is concerned, Sadhu Singh said: "At the time of the inauguration of the community centre, we had given a list of various shortcomings, but they have not been fixed till now. It has tin roof and it becomes difficult to even stand there during the summers. Besides, there is seepage in walls."

Residents told The Tribune that they had expected big changes after the village came under the civic body following the abolishment of the panchayat. However, nothing much had changed, they said.

Meanwhile, MC officials said 13 villages were merged with the MC without any funds. "Now, the Administration has released Rs50 crore for the development of villages and the works will start in a phased manner," said an official.

from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3sUdOOP