Dug-up roads, Chandigarh MC’s apathy drive Behlana residents up the wall

Despite the municipal corporation (MC) taking over the developmental work in Behlana village four years ago, residents continue to suffer because of the poor road conditions. Things are expected to go from bad to worse with the monsoon around the corner.

With dug-up concrete done for the installation of a 24-hour water-pipeline — the village’s central thoroughfare was never fully reconstructed and is lying in a deplorable state. Residents say they have made several appeals to the MC to undertake repair work to no avail, with several pointing out that the working was better off under the sarpanch’s jurisdiction.

Ashok Kumar, the owner of an electronics shop, said, “The inner road which goes all the way to the cemetery was built with stone bricks three months back when the local member of Parliament Kirron Kher came here to inaugurate safai kendra here, the road was dug up again to install a water line, but never rebuilt.”

The rain has already begun impacting the commute, with two-wheelers skidding over heavy mud and potholes. Stagnant water, meanwhile, further puts the residents at health risks by serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Ram Sarup, a resident of Behlana for over 40 years, said, “The sewage system and water lines are getting installed one after the other, but the work is going very slow.”

Speaking about the delay in the work, MC commissioner, Anindita Mitra said, “The road work was to be executed by the UT administration after completion of the work undertaken by the public health department. However, during a review meeting on June 9, the UT chief engineer informed that funds will be transferred to MC for the execution of the same.”

“Accordingly, detailed estimates are being prepared and the work will be taken up after completion of the ongoing public health works,” she added.

Ward councillor Gurcharanjit Singh, meanwhile, also assured that the work will resume in the coming days.

Behlana, a village on the outskirts of Chandigarh sandwiched between the Indo-Tibetan Border Police force camp and Central Reserve Police Force camp, has a population of around 12,000 people and is also home to a market for army amenities.