Sewage spills, protest reaches MC official’s home

LUDHIANA: A protest over sewage flowing out onto the streets of Muslim Colony in Focal Point reached the doorstep of an MC superintending engineer (SE) on Sunday morning.

Irked over sewage stagnating on roadsides, a group of shopkeepers from the area, led by the husband of local councillor Kitty Uppal, went to the residence of MC superintending engineer (operation and maintenance) Rajinder Singh to complain to him over choked sewer lines in the area.

The protest started in the morning, when shopkeepers saw sewage stagnant on the roadside. Irked by the foul smell and civic apathy, the shopkeepers staged a protest and then went to complain at Uppal’s residence.

There, Uppal’s husband Deepak Uppal met them and told them to accompany him to the residence of the senior engineer responsible for maintaining drains in the area. Uppal told TOI that they had been for long taking the blame for the lack of civic amenities in their area, even when MC officials were responsible for the job.

The protest came close on the heels of the Congress MLA from Ludhiana East, Sanjay Talwar, announcing that councillors will send people to the offices of the MC and commissioner if their problems were not solved.

The protest on Sunday was the first such instance. “Sewerage system in the area remains choked most of the time. But on Sunday, when shops opened for business, there was sewage flowing in front of their shops. Shopkeepers reached my house and sought an explanation from me,” said Uppal.

He said he had taken up the issue several times with officials of the MC, but they were not paying attention. “We had no other option. We went to his home and told him about our problems. He then came to the area and asked field officers to solve the problem,” said Uppal.

Uppal said the SE had suggested replacement of sewer lines in the area to solve the problem.

When contacted, Singh said the step taken by the protesters and councillor’s husband was condemnable. “It is not good to stage a protest outside an officer's house. If residents have problems, they should come to the MC office,” he said.

He added that many in the area lack civic sense. “They even throw plastic bags and garbage in sewerage. How do they expect it to be functional if they abuse it like this,” he said.

Ward 22 councillor Kitty Uppal’s husband Deepak Uppal, who led the protesters to MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh’s house on Sunday, asked the authorities to resolve their problems at the earliest. “Else, we will stage protests outside homes of the MC commissioner and the mayor,” he said.