Citizen-candidate dialogue aims to address state's burning social & environ issues
Ludhiana: A civic engagement programme was organised by PAC Mattewara, along with various environmental and social organisations from across Punjab, at Leisure Valley here Sunday.
Titled "Our Issues, Your Stand", the event aimed to hold political candidates accountable by directly confronting them on pressing public issues just four days before Ludhiana West goes to polls.
In a unique format, candidates and representatives moved from stand to stand, each manned by an NGO or civil rights group, responding to pointed questions on critical issues. Only two candidates and a representative of another took part in the event.
They were Navneet Kumar Gopi, candidate of Akali Dal Amritsar (Mann group), Parupkar Singh Ghuman, SAD candidate and Gurdeep Singh Gosha, who came on behalf of BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta.
The NGOs and rights groups raked up issues like the proposed urban estates on 25,000 acres of agricultural land, chemical-laced wastewater being let out into the Buddha Dariya, the setting up of a new paper mill at Chamkaur Sahib on the banks of the Buddha Dariya and Neelon canal, alleged encroachment of land belonging to schools and colleges, lifting of the ban on plastic bags and single-use plastic items, rampant encroachment of green belts, amendment of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, the unresolved Mattewara land issue, Punjab's looming water crisis, and appointment of outsiders to constitutional, govt, and political posts in Punjab.
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Thanking the candidates who could make it to the programme, Amandeep Bains and Jaskirat Singh of PAC (Mattewara) said, "Those who do not have the time or inclination to listen to the issues of the people just four days before polling, what can we expect from them after they win the election?"
Activists Kapil Arora and Kuldeep Singh Khaira thanked the teams of Chamkaur Sahib Morcha, Zira Sanjha Morcha, Batala Bachao Morcha, Mattewara Morcha, among others, who came from far-off places, especially for the programme, and asked the right questions.
Col JS Gill, Brij Bhushan Goyal, Preet Dhanoa, Gurpreet Plaha, Amrita Mangat, Mohit Saggar from PAC, Karan Kandhola from Chamkaur Sahib Morcha, Gurmel Singh and Roman Brar from Zira Sanjha Morcha, Param Sunil Kaur from Batala Bachao Morcha, and Kashmir Singh from Sekhowal village were present with their team members.
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