A video showing a woman rescuing her young daughter after she fell into an open drain filled with dirty water on Tajpur Road has gone viral on social media, triggering sharp reactions from residents and political leaders over the poor condition of roads and drainage in the area.
According to local residents, the incident took place on Wednesday evening near Amrit Dharam Kanda Chowk when a woman was travelling on a scooter with three children. As the road was submerged under stagnant filthy water, she reportedly failed to notice the open drain.
The scooter allegedly lost balance after hitting the uncovered portion of the drain, causing the child standing in front to fall into it.
The woman immediately pulled her daughter out of the drain while nearby residents rushed to help the family and lifted the scooter from the waterlogged stretch. Fortunately, the child escaped without serious injuries.
Residents said waterlogging and overflowing dirty water had become a routine problem on the road, making movement risky for commuters. They alleged that nearby dairy units were largely responsible for the condition, as wastewater and animal waste frequently accumulated on the road.
People living in the area said schoolchildren, elderly residents and devotees passing through the stretch were forced to walk through filthy water daily. Residents also claimed that several people, especially children and senior citizens, had slipped and suffered injuries due to the poor condition of the road.
The issue gained further attention after Union Minister of State
Ravneet Singh Bittu shared the viral video on social media and criticised the Punjab Government over the condition of civic infrastructure.
He questioned whether such unsafe roads reflected the promise of a better Punjab and said people were now afraid of walking on roads due to such “death traps”.
Area residents demanded immediate action against those responsible for releasing wastewater on roads and urged authorities to develop a permanent drainage and waste disposal system to prevent further accidents.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the Municipal Corporation Ludhiana said the drain falls under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board and maintained that the concerned department should undertake cleaning and maintenance work.
Attempts to contact the Executive Engineer of the department for comments remained unsuccessful.
