Ludhiana, August 8
Expressing grave concern over the threat to “life and property” of Ludhiana residents, former President of the District Congress Committee (Urban) and ex‑Chairman of the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board, Pawan Dewan, has warned that daily reports of roads caving in have now become a grim routine in the industrial hub. What is even more alarming is that the crisis has escalated beyond mere property damage and commuter inconvenience — the very lives of citizens stand endangered.
In a hard-hitting statement issued after personally visiting the site, Dewan said that residential buildings barely survived in the latest road cave-in near Saggu Chowk. “The Lions Bhawan road in Kitchlu Nagar near Saggu Chowk has become the starkest symbol of civic collapse, where the cave‑in was so massive that residential houses could have crumbled, posing a direct threat to the lives of those residing there. This time, sheer luck saved the nearest building from collapsing, but the incident has left residents gripped by fear and shock, knowing they could have lost both life and property,” he added.
Dewan observed that the road collapsed after the ageing 72‑inch brick sewer line — a crumbling structure estimated to be nearly four decades old — finally gave way. “The collapsing civic infrastructure and the administration’s shocking failure to act is beyond comprehension,” he said, while lashing out at the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for its complete failure not only to prevent such disasters but also to ensure that repair work was executed properly to stop their recurrence.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Dewan with Ludhiana DC Himanshu Jain
Dewan pointed out that while restoring the damaged sewer, reconstructing the manhole and reopening the road will drag on for 10–15 days, plunging the city into chaos by disrupting water supply and choking traffic movement. He warned that this prolonged paralysis is not just an inconvenience but a glaring indictment of the MC’s inefficiency, as essential services are crippled and residents are forced to endure daily hardship. The delay, he stressed, exposes the shocking inability of the MC to safeguard even the most basic civic needs, leaving Ludhiana’s industrial hub at the mercy of collapsing infrastructure and administrative apathy.
Dewan stressed that the Municipal Corporation’s immediate priority must be to safeguard the house precariously perched at the edge of the damaged road, as any further collapse could spell catastrophe. The incident, he warned, is not just a symptom of decaying infrastructure but a chilling reminder that lives are hanging by a thread and the administration’s negligence has pushed residents to the brink of disaster.
While visiting the spot, Dewan was accompanied by Member PCC Sushil Malhotra, senior Congress leader Inderjit Kapoor, Navish Bansal, Kamal Singhania, Raghav Singhania and Kapil Kharbanda.