Stink from choe drives away walkers

Ashok Bansal,a hotelier whose house is adjacent to the park,is a regular walker at the Leisure Valley. He says the stink is so nauseating in the morning that many visitors now prefer walking in the Bougainvillaea Garden adjoining the Leisure Valley. “There,the choe runs through a corner of the garden,so it is easier to walk at a good distance from it,” he says.

Gurvinder Singh Dhillon,an advocate who has been a regular walker at the Leisure Valley,says the stink is caused by the dirty water coming into the choe. “The securitymen at the residence of the Punjab or Haryana Chief Minister seem to be disposing of the sewage into the choe,which makes the water dirty and causes the stink. During monsoon,the increased flow of water flushed out the dirty water. But now,the stink has started again. Something concrete should be done to address the problem,” he demands.

The park is under the care of the Horticulture Wing of the UT Administration. Officials of the Wing say a few days ago,they wrote to the Public Health department of the Administration about the stink rising from the choe. Talking to Newsline,an official said,“Either sewerage waste is being disposed into the choe,or there is a leakage somewhere. We have asked the Public Health department to look into the matter,” he said.