British-era Canal Colony in need of immediate repairs

Experts declare vicinity dangerous for inhabitants due to crumbling walls

KOT ADDU: Canal Colony, a British-era housing scheme established in Kot Addu, is in dire need of renovation and restoration due to the apathy of the government. The colony lacks basic facilities and necessities and with the passage of time, has fallen in ruin.

British rulers constructed a vast network of canals in India and Pakistan. While construction work was under way, they built a residential colony for the employees working on the project.

After Pakistan gained independence in 1947, the colony was handed over to the Irrigation Department. Currently, departmental employees and their families reside in the colony.

A visit to the area by Express News revealed that most of the houses in the locality have crumbling walls and broken roofs, while cracks are also visible on majority of the walls.

Further, the area has been without electricity and gas for the past several years making the lives of residents miserable. Citizens are compelled to use other means to carry out every day activites.

Previous governments initiated renovation work in the colony but after the 2010 floods, the work came to a staggering halt. Since then, the entire vicinity is in a dilapidated condition.



The people of the area voted to elect representatives for the area but after winning the general elections, not a single lawmaker has carried out any development project in the area.

On the other hand, government officials have declared this colony as ‘razed’ in official documents.

Sources added that renovations have been made in other colonies but Canal Colony has been neglected.  Most of the villages situated at a distance from the colony, including Purhar Basti and Sheikh Umer, have been provided with gas but Canal Colony still remains without.

A resident of the colony, requesting anonymity, told Express News, “Higher government officials get funds to build and renovate their homes but our houses remain in a shambles.”

He added, “We demand the authorities concerned look into the matter and improve the condition of the colony.”

Although experts have declared the colony dangerous for inhabitants, local residents have refused to relocate.

They said that leaving their houses is not an option for them. “Where will we go with our old parents and young children,” Mukhtar, a resident of the colony said. Residents appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, provincial ministers and irrigation secretary to provide relief and save the historic colony from further damage.

When contacted, former provincial minister Malik Ahmed Yar Hanjra told Express News that due to the fact that it is a government colony, members of the provincial assembly cannot carry out uplift work until the government gives their approval.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2019.