Bhargo Camp known for poverty, unemployment, gang war

JALANDHAR: Gastroenteritis, disease, squalor, poverty, crime, over-population and unemployment are all linked and are part of the destiny of Bhargo Camp which has been in the news recently on account of the gastro-related deaths.
Its not just gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, cholera, jaundice, skin infections, STDs and other physical ailments that trouble Bhargo Camp, set up during the traumatic days of partition to settle the refugees pouring in from across the newly demarcated border, the very soul of this Camp is sick.It probably reflects a possibility that may become a reality for the rest of society if the small scale units close down and people lose their jobs.
You come across sunken, sallow faces sitting idle in the doorways. Houses have been converted into secret bars where you can get a ''glassy'' of liquor smuggled in from Chandigarh where the excise rate is low. One glassy is for Rs 10 and along with it you get a pinch of salt free.
Little children are used in the illicit liquor trade as they are least suspected. And there are hordes of children in the area, probably because they were once considered as capital to be invested in the sports goods units which have long since closed down. The youth are into gang wars. The two ruling gangs here have been the Dullo gang and the Lully gang. Both the gang leaders are dead now and others who treated them as role models are shaping up.
"It is the most densely populated area of the city. Most families have lost their business. All family members were once engaged in shuttle cock making or in stitching footballs. That is all a thing of the past. With a population of around one lakh there are bound to be civic problems," said the Mayor Surinder Mahey.
"Gang wars have been witnessed in this area. In the last few years the two main gang leaders Lully and Dullo were killed in gang wars. Youth are idle as they are without jobs," said Rakesh Kaushal, superintendant Police, who is looking after the area. "The cause for criminal activity and bootlegging in this area is socio-economic," said the SP.
"We have done professional courses but for survival have to accept under-employment," said Rajesh Kumar, a computer engineer working in Inderprast Hotel. He is not the only one. Rakesh Kumar, an electrical engineer, runs a karyana shop. Chaman Lal is worried about his daughters."
Earlier they stitched footballs for a living, but now there is no work. The surgical unit I was working in has closed down. They say surgical instruments are very low prices have entered the market," he said. Kaushalya, 50, sits on her doorsteps all day long guarding her three young daughters."