Memorial in place, Kartarpur isn’t going places

Rachna Khaira

On the outskirts of Kartarpur, Mohinder Pal Singh (56), a farmer of Ali Khilana village, wipes his sweating brow after a tiring day in his lush-green fields along the Bholath road. However, he can’t afford to put his feet up. The prospect of sewage outflow from the adjoining drain weighs on his mind.

“Governments have come and gone, but this historic town, famous for its wooden furniture, still doesn’t have a functional sewerage system. The untreated water flows into our fields and remains stagnant for months, damaging our crops,” says Mohinder, taking out a container of home-made lassi from his worn-out bag.

Even though 80 per cent of the town was connected through the sewerage network by the Akali-BJP government about three years ago, no sewage treatment plant (STP) has been established till date. There is no provision to flush out around 5 lakh litres of water used by over 25,000 people every day in the urban areas.

According to local residents, the Municipal Council earmarked 31 kanals to set up the STP, but it could not get the government land transferred in its name due to a local politician’s vested interests. What’s worse, the MC has reduced the water supply to the town from six hours to four daily.

“It would be great if the STP is established. The treated water should be used to irrigate the fields and then diverted towards the holy bein near Subhanpur,” suggests Amrik Singh, a farmer from Maliyan village.

Karaminder Pal Singh, Executive Officer, Municipal Council, claims that the sewerage project, including the installation of the STP, has been approved by the state government and would be implemented soon.

The town, known as the home of the ‘Kartarpuri Bir’ — an Adi Granth written by Guru Arjan Dev — boasts of the Jang-e-Azadi memorial, whose first phase was inaugurated recently. However, the residents are worried about the shifting of the decades-old Dana Mandi and the loss of jobs of over 7,000 people in the area due to the shutting down of a major liquor industry.

“What was the point of spending Rs 350 crore on the construction of a war memorial? We want industrial units to be set up so that employment opportunities can be created for us,” says Deepak Handa, an MBA student. He adds that the region is known as an education hub of north India, yet a majority of the youths are planning to go abroad as there are few job avenues here. “It is imperative to root out the drug menace from the state and strike a balance between educational, job and entrepreneurial opportunities in the area,” he says.

The constituency has witnessed twists and turns on the political front. Once known as a Congress bastion, the seat was won by BSP-turned-SAD leader Avinash Chander in 2007, ending the Chaudhary family’s 30-year-long winning streak. Five years later, the Akalis gave the ticket to Sarwan Singh Phillaur, who managed to defeat former Congress minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh (now deceased) by a narrow margin of 823 votes.

Phillaur, a former Jails Minister, has joined the Congress after the SAD virtually reduced him to a nonentity. The Akalis have fielded a new face, Satpal Mal, from Kartarpur. Speculation is rife that Phillaur MLA and former CPS Avinash Chander, who also quit the SAD recently, may contest from here on the BSP ticket. Voters are looking forward to an intriguing contest in which a rookie Akali will be pitted against former Akalis.

“Mal will face an uphill task if an old warhorse is fielded against him,” says Col Shamsher Singh (retd), a resident of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar.

The Congress has a dedicated vote bank of Ad Dharmis (Ravidassias) — associated with Dera Sachkhand Ballan — while Phillaur has a sizeable number of his supporters. Under the circumstances, he seems to be the best bet for the party keen on wresting the seat from the Akali Dal.

The constituency is dotted with hoardings of the AAP nominee, Balmiki leader Chandan Grewal, who has been campaigning as well as grappling with infighting. His candidature has not gone down well with a section of the local AAP volunteers. He is banking on the party’s buzzword — change — to make his presence felt.