Potholed roads may give a bumpy ride

What he delivered: The Rs 100-crore solid waste management project saw the light of day; work on four-laning of Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road and Amritsar-Attari Road is in progress; he got Rs 100 crore from the state government for development,construction of roads and planted saplings; overspent Rs 10 crore from his MPLAD funds; distributed funds for sports and rural development; generated public opinion to save Rajasansi International

Airport and made bureaucrats accountable.

Where he failed: He failed to bring SEZ; Rs 100-crore grant was not fully used,elevated road is still to be completed; didn’t take up the issue of central university in Amritsar with the authorities; city is still dotted by dirt,green cover is missing,traffic is at its unruly best,work on Attari JCP is yet to start; no significant sports facility added; no major investment by public or private company in the area and border area farmers are still crying for compensation.

Attendance in lok sabha: 60 per cent

Number of questions asked: He was able to press for four call attention motions in Lok Sabha. These were on issues of SEZ,Punjab’s disturbed area tag since the days of terrorism,four-laning of Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road and Rajasansi Airport.

Opinions: “He is a total failure as an MP. Out of 365 days,he stays in the city only for 60 days,as he is too busy with TV shows. He was able to push for the solid waste management only a few days before the elections were notified. He did nothing for youth,” said Gurmeet Singh Babblu,chairman of the Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Youth Front.

“He is an honest,upright and energetic man with a vision. But the official machinery is not implementing his ideas. Traffic management is poor,city is choking with encroachments and over 30,000 auto-rickshaws plying without permits are adding to the woes. The roads being built are not up to the mark,” said Brij Bedi,a social worker who heads Citizen’s Forum.

“He is a well-meaning person,and took up important issues of Rajasansi Airport,elevated road,farmers’ problems and the Attari JCP. He did not get cooperation from the Akalis,who never concentrate on the Holy City,and history is a witness to it. However,the star MP should be more available to the people,” said Charanjit Singh Gumtala,chairman of the Amritsar Vikas Manch.

Votes secured by top three candidates in 2007 by-poll
* Navjot Sidhu (BJP): 4,44,748
* Surinder Singla (Cong): 3,67,122
* Surinder Arjun (BSP): 21,466
Total votes: 12,13,322