Dump yard in park: Trader takes protest to DC’s office

LUDHIANA: Holding placards, businessman Gurpal Grewal and his two minor sons staged a protest against shifting of a dump yard to a park in Model Town outside the mini secretariat outside the DC office on Thursday. Gurpal had been protesting against the MC’s move for the past 15 days.

The civic authorities had recently decided to shift the garbage dump from under the bus stand flyover to Chattar Singh park in view of flyover’s “poor condition”. They protested for almost 4 hours but could not meet the DC as he was busy in an important meeting over the issue of drugs.

Gurpal and his sons Taqdeerpal (12) and Jangvir Singh (9) protested silently with placards in their hands. Gurpal said the deputy commissioner is head of city so he had come to meet and request him not to turn Chattar Singh park into garbage dump.

Talking about his mission, Grewal said, “I cannot stand anything wrong. Moreover, this park was named after Cadet Chattar Singh Dhadhli of 3rd Punjab Battalion, NCC. So it is not right to use it as a garbage dump.” He said they could not meet the DC on Thursday, but their protest won’t end till MC doesn’t revert its decision.

Meanwhile, his son Taqdeerpal Singh said, “We are supporting our father for a noble cause and we will continue coming to the site unless the administration changes its decision.”

The visitors to the DC complex, court complex and other offices were surprised to see two children with their father during the protest. While some of them found this as an opportunity to make fun of them, some passersby stopped and asked them about their protest.

Medical officer (health) Dr Vipul Malhotra said they have shifted the garbage dump in the park for time being and soon they would install static compactors at the site. He said they had to shift the dump because dump could damage the flyover walls.

Notably, it is not for the first time that Grewal has raised voice against some civic problem. Earlier he had raised the matter of unsafe Jagraon Bridge and he had also sat on a hunger strike to demand repair of the bus stand flyover.