Praful Chander Nagpal
As far as the development is concerned, no new project has been introduced by the Congress government in the past five years in Fazilka segment.
Past trend
BJP has won four times, Cong thrice and an Independent once in the last eight elections. Out of four BJP victories, ex-Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani has won thrice. The Rai Sikh community, which has the major chunk of votes, is likely to be the deciding factor this year.
Electorate strength
Total voters – 1,62,981
Male – 86,211
Female – 76,768
Third gender – 2
Locals’ key demands
- Set up medical college
- Fill vacant posts in college
- Set up Punjab Roadways Depot
- Complete hospital building
Due to the run-up to the elections, the government is keen on inaugurating “incomplete” hospital building, the construction of which was started during the previous SAD-BJP regime, to derive the mileage before the enforcement of model code of conduct in the state.
The information gathered by The Tribune revealed that the Fazilka Municipal Council carved out four colonies in the town and sold out nearly 577 plots by earning crores of rupees out of it. “None of the colony has been developed by the council so far and the continuous demand for development falls on the deaf ears of successive governments,” said a plot owner, Kranti Kumar, of Shayama Parsad Mukherjeet MC colony. He said heaps of garbage could be seen everywhere in the colonies and anti-social elements had encroached upon the buyers’ plots in connivance with council authorities.
The only government college has been striving for its existence as all posts of professors and principal have been lying vacant since long. “Our repeated memorandums, requests and continuous agitation for filling up the vacant posts have fallen on deaf ears,” said Dheeraj Kumar, president, Punjab Students Union, Fazilka.
The issue of untreated water being released into Fazilka drains is yet to be addressed. The National Green Tribunal had fixed March 31, 2021, as the deadline to resolve the issue of polluted water, but the problem still persists. In July 2019, a local farmer, Vikram Ahuja, had filed a petition in the NGT, seeking its intervention to get rid of the problem of polluted water in Fazilka drains, citing reason that the sub-soil water had turned unfit for human consumption and for irrigation purposes for different reasons.
No development project in 5 years
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