NEW DELHI: After Nizamuddin, the newly-redeveloped and beautified stretch on Nehru Nagar foot overbridge near PGDAV College and the Chirag Dilli to Sheikh Sarai stretch are falling prey to thieves, who are plundering pavement plants, street lights, decorative posts, handrails of escalators and ACP sheets.
This has put the Public Works Department in a fix as it has suffered losses worth nearly Rs 5 lakh. PWD officials blamed the police for failure to prevent the theft and burglary of government property. Unlike Nizamuddin, the newly-redeveloped stretch on the Ring Road near PGDAV College is being looted by rich people as well as the low profile thieves, drug addicts and the homeless. According to officials, people in luxury cars have been spotted stealing the plants and shrubs installed for beautification and to control dust pollution.
“The stretch was completed last year in December and was inaugurated in March this year. Within a period of five months, about 300-350 plants have been stolen from here. People come in luxury cars and pluck the costly plants. Some people come for morning walk and just take the plant with the pot,” a PWD official said.
The official said the cost of one plant is Rs 400-500 in nurseries. On the Nehru Nagar stretch, plants worth Rs 1.75 lakh were stolen in the last five months. The plants that have been stolen on the 1km long stretch are fishtail palm tree, plumaria alba, royal palm, devil tree and others.
“Neither do the police take any action nor do the people have manners or awareness. The people lives in posh areas. Recently, a woman came out of her BMW and took the plant on the footpath and put it inside her vehicle on the Nehru Nagar stretch. When an architect at the site saw her stealing the plants and asked her to stop, the woman started shouting at him,” a senior official said.
Plants, streetlights fall prey to petty thieves, rich
Apart from plants and shrubs, decorative streetlights, poles, handrails of lifts, flood lights, bolts, designer lamps, lanterns, meter box installed to beautify the stretch under the street scaping project have vanished. The Nehru Nagar stretch near PGDAV College is the first sample stretch of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ambitious streetscaping and road development projects on European standards.
Under this project, the PWD redeveloped the road and created separate red-carpeted cycle track, parking space for e-rickshaw and cycle rickshaw, street furniture for people to sit and relax.
To beautify the area, PWD installed plants, decorative poles, designer lamps and LED lights. “The thieves have completely vandalised the stretch. To lit the area and give an asthetic look, the department installed 45 poles with designer lamps and the poles were decorated with tri-colour light strips.
Now not a single strip is there. A total of 135 metre long light strip worth Rs 54,000 has been stolen. Four costly designer posts/ lamps costing Rs 20,000 per light have been stolen. Further, handrails, bolts and escalator on the Nehru Nagar FOB has been completely dismantled and Rs 4.5lakh worth item has been stolen,” a senior Public Works Department official.
Officials added that earlier, security guards were deployed on the stretch, including the FOB and subway but the thieves once stabbed a guard when he tried to stop them from dismantling the lights and fittings. After that guards are scared of night duty here. The deshbhakti-themed Chirag Dilli to Sheikh Sarai on the erstwhile BRT corridor inaugurated last month by the Delhi CM has also plundered by the string of thefts.
Three flood lights and 10 square meters ACP sheet worth Rs 50,000 has been stolen, the officials said. The robbers steal the light fitting, cut the meter box and leave the open cables and wires which pose a threat to the public, the officials added. “Earlier, it was only Nizamuddin but it is now spread to other places. The police are not taking any action despite several complaints and FIRs.
The police should take strict action against the kabadi shops, which deal in this otherwise this will never end. Even if they arrest, the thieves are out in two days again trying to steal. The homeless people and beggars should also be moved out,” the official said. But a Delhi Police official said: “Our beat officers patrol during the night and we take action if we receive any complaint of theft.”
Everything up for grabs
Nehru Nagar near PGDAV College
350 Plants stolen
Rs 1.75 lakh Cost/worth
Type of plants: Ficus species, fishtail palm tree, plumaria alba, royal palm, devil tree
Suspects: Rich people
Chirag Dilli to Sheikh Sarai
items stolen: 3 flood lights, ACP sheet 10 sq. mtrs.
worth: Rs 50,000
Suspects: Drug addicts, robbers, homeless people, beggars, and low profile thieves