3 min readDera BassiJan 21, 2017 06:02 AM IST
First published on: Jan 21, 2017 at 06:02 AM IST
Simarjeet, a resident of Chhat village in Dera Bassi constituency. Express
FOR SIMARJEET, who is in her early 30s and is a mother of three, it is a daily ordeal to wait for the cover of darkness before she can attend to nature’s call in fields near her house at Chhat village. The construction of a toilet in her house remains incomplete as she says that adequate funds were not available.
There are other houses like hers at the village where toilets are yet to be built. Chhat, which is part of the Dera Bassi Assembly constituency, is located around a kilometre from the glitzy housing projects and malls of Zirakpur.
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Simarjeet says, “The tall buildings may be coming up in the nearby areas, but for us the lack of basic facilities is a problem. The government announced Rs 15,000 for constructing toilets. We were told that we should start construction and the money would be given. My husband earns around Rs 8,000 per month. It is not possible for us to complete the construction on our own. We could not make payments and work is stuck midway.”
Simarjeet and her mother-in-law Gurdev Kaur venture out together at night with safety being a concern. “The population is increasing. It is very difficult to attend to nature’s call without being seen. It is embarrassing. My children are growing up and I do not want them to go through such an ordeal,” Simarjeet says, as she cooks on a chulha using cowdung cakes. The family does not have an LPG connection.
Chhat has more than 4,500 voters. While most of the houses have toilets, the facility is yet to reach everyone. Among the major concerns of the villagers is the open drains and lack of sanitation.
Another resident of the village, Amarjit Kaur, complains that politicians make promises during elections and then never fulfil these.
“The candidates have now started making a beeline to the village. Once the election process is over, we will not see them for the next five years. We have several demands that we want fulfilled. There should be better employment opportunities for our children. We were promised some funds for repair of our houses that we never received,” she says.
To some villages, the cards to get ration under the atta-dal scheme were provided recently, which the villagers claim was done with an eye on the elections.
A few hundred metres away from Chhat is Shatabgarh village. With around 450 voters, this village depends on Chhat for facilities like a primary health centre and a ration depot.
A resident, Balwinder Kaur, alleges that not much development has taken place in the village.
She says, “There is a need for providing better sewerage facilities. At present, the drains are open which causes a lot of problems, especially after rains. The primary health centre is located at Chhat. Our village also does not have a ration depot. Some basic facilities should be provided here.”
Deepinder Singh Dhillon, the Congress candidate from Dera Bassi, says the Chhatbir Zoo is located near Chhat village and if developed properly, the village could become a tourism hub.
Simarjeet, a resident of Chhat village in Dera Bassi constituency. Express
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