The Fact News Service
Jalandhar, March 29
Environmental enthusiast and Rajya Sabha member, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, has claimed that the “Seechewal Model” has not failed anywhere; rather, the “Thapar Model” created by engineers has failed everywhere. This statement came in response to opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa’s remarks in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, in which he declared the Seechewal Model a failure. This statement has sparked anger across the state, with people criticizing political leaders who seem more interested in making statements rather than solving issues.
Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, while speaking to the media, claimed that since 1999, the model implemented in his native village, Seechewal, has been running successfully and continues to do so to this day. He mentioned that whenever any problem arises in a village, the local residents are the first to find solutions, not engineers. He said that traditionally, villagers would seek help from blacksmiths for tasks, not engineers.
Referring to the critics of the Seechewal Model, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal stated that this model is successfully running in nearly 250 villages across Punjab, and he fully guarantees the success of this model. He further claimed that the “Thapar Model” has proven to be a failure. He said that those who tried to copy the Seechewal Model did not even use common sense. Sant Seechewal referred to his visit to the Sangrur constituency of MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj, where a large sum of money was spent to implement the “Thapar Model” for wastewater management, which failed badly, leaving the people frustrated. The engineer from the department himself admitted that the wastewater management had not been executed properly.
Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal also shared an incident from 2022 when a conference was held at Thapar University in Patiala. During the exhibition, the “Thapar Model” was showcased. After inspecting it, Sant Seechewal immediately pointed out to the engineers that the water connections were reversed. Despite his observation, the engineers did not correct their mistake. It is noteworthy that the Thapar Engineering College adopted Sant Seechewal’s model after reaching out to him.
Seechewal Model Adopted for Cleaning the National River Ganga
To eliminate pollution in the country’s 2,525-kilometer-long national river, the Ganga, the Seechewal Model was adopted along the riverbanks in 1,657 villages. This decision was made by the central government. During a meeting of Panchayat heads from five states at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi, the Seechewal Model was showcased in the presence of seven central ministers. The Congress former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat, was also present at the event. In addition, the Seechewal Model was considered a role model for addressing the pollution of rivers in areas such as Shahjahanpur (U.P.), Haryana, and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).
