In a glaring example of poor planning and potential waste of public money, a high-cost chain-link fencing project along the heavily polluted Buddha Dariya drain in Ludhiana lies damaged and neglected. The barrier, installed at a cost of Rs 10 crore under the Smart City Mission, is now either dangling precariously into the water or has vanished entirely in sections, as municipal cleanup work takes precedence over protecting the infrastructure.
Cleanup Operation Compromises Fencing
Municipal workers, in their drive to clean the notorious drain in this Punjab industrial hub, have reportedly disrupted the fencing near areas like Chander Nagar and Shivpuri. To allow machinery entry for the cleaning process, workers are creating sand beds, but this has come at the cost of the installed barriers. Critics are questioning why the expensive fencing was not carefully removed and stored before the cleanup began, instead of being left to get damaged.
A Pattern of Neglect and Criticism
This is not the first time the fencing has faced damage. Locals point out that the barriers were previously ravaged by flooding about two years ago, after which the Municipal Corporation (MC) ignored repairs or replacements. Furthermore, plans to extend the fencing to remaining stretches of the drain have been shelved.
The situation has drawn sharp criticism from political figures. BJP's Deepak Sharma slammed the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for squandering taxpayer money. "We are not against cleaning the drain," he said, "but the fencing should have been stored properly and reinstalled afterward." Sharma also raised a pointed contrast, warning that nearby decorative lights—installed on the recommendation of the ruling party's local MLA—might escape similar damage, unlike the taxpayer-funded barriers.
Official Silence and Public Accountability
Amid the growing controversy, MC officials have remained silent. Superintending engineer Ekjot Singh of the operation and maintenance cell did not respond to requests for comment on the damaged fencing and the alleged misuse of funds. The continued neglect raises serious questions about the accountability of the Smart City projects and the maintenance of public infrastructure in Ludhiana.
The core purpose of the fencing—to curb the dumping of solid waste into the Buddha Dariya—now stands defeated, with the barrier itself becoming a victim of neglect and haphazard execution. The incident underscores a larger issue of project sustainability and responsible use of public funds in urban development initiatives.
