Villagers decry poor implementation of govt plans in Bathinda
: A day before the visit of senior officials of the chief minister’s office (CMO) to attend an awareness camp on schemes for the poor at historical Gurdwara Lakhi Jungle Sahib near Bathinda on Friday, residents of the area shared their anguish over the sad state of affairs.
The camp is being held as part of the year-long celebrations of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary at the historical gurdwara of the village.
Baldev Singh, a local villager who has been issued the ‘Bhagat Puran Singh health insurance scheme’ card for free healthcare by the state government, said despite being a beneficiary of the scheme he was under ₹3 lakh debt for getting treated after his head and ribs were injured in a road accident.
“Eh card kis kam daa? (What is the use of this card?),” he asked, narrating as how the staff at the emergency wing of nearby Goniana civil hospital refused to admit him in the absence of a doctor on October 4 night.
“The card was issued during the assembly elections in 2017,” he said.
Baldev was skeptical over Friday’s event when asked if he would share his dilemma with the senior officials coming from Chandigarh. The one-day camp will be presided over by the CM’s chief principal secretary, Suresh Kumar, with residents of seven villages being in attendance.
While Lakhi Jungle will be painted white as a model village for the implementation of the government schemes, women from adjoining Mehma Sarja village had their own share of woes like open defecation.
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Her relative Jugraj Singh said poor families got just ₹5,000 each as “advance” to start the construction of toilets on the assurance that they will receive the remaining amount in phases.
A 40-year-old farm labourer complained that his pleas to get the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) card remain unheard.