Several panchayats demand to be merged with SBS Nagar district

Hoshiarpur, Nov 14 (PTI) Several village panchayats from the Garhshankar assembly segment in Hoshiarpur on Friday submitted a memorandum to Punjab Deputy Speaker Jai Krishan Singh Rouri, demanding that their areas be merged with the neighbouring Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) district.

Panchayat representatives told Rouri that successive governments have ignored the residents' decades-long demand, according to a release.

They said several villages of the constituency are geographically closer to SBS Nagar, while people currently have to travel 60-80 km to reach the Hoshiarpur district headquarters, causing inconvenience to the poor, women, elderly and daily-wage earners.

Sarpanch Boota Singh Alipur said the demand has been pending for years and residents were hopeful that the present government and Rouri would resolve the issue.

Linking the area with SBS Nagar would help ease several administrative difficulties, he added.

Rouri said assured the delegation that the matter would be taken up with the government and senior officials. "Public convenience is our priority," he said. PTI COR CHS SKY SKY