NEW DELHI: Residents living in three wards of the Kalkaji constituency namely Sri Niwas Puri, Kalkaji and Govindpuri said that they stare at a slew of civic issues which need to be addressed on a priority basis.
Residents claimed that the parks, public toilets, marketplaces, streets and back lanes are in pathetic condition as their councillors are least bothered to maintain these services in the last five years. Mushrooming of new liquor shops is also a big no-no for residents this time.
The residents claimed that the basic public infrastructure has collapsed in their respective wards. Community parks are not being maintained on a regular basis and the pruning of trees is also not proper. The condition of roads coming under jurisdiction is worse as local councillors have ‘failed’ to pay attention to repair them. Similarly, encroachment on roads is at an all-time high and mushrooming of vendors has taken place across Kalkaji.
“Condition of Kalkaji ward is not good at all. The civic agency has not done its work in a proper manner. The garbage issue aside, one can see the pathetic condition of public toilets, dispensaries, and primary schools. Even no focus is being given to clean backlanes which is causing problems to senior citizens. The problem is that BJP councillor Manpreet Kaur is an outsider so he does not bother about the area,” said Nitin Khattar, a resident.
“The condition of galis and streets have turned worse over the past five years even after several complaints were raised by residents The officials of the MCD have not taken any action to solve the problem,” said Shilpa Mehta, a resident. Most streets in Kalkaji’s neighbourhoods are full of potholes, and during the rainy season, these are filled with water due to which we are under the threat of several diseases,” said Dr Chanchal Pal, a resident.
Another resident of the area, Sharad Raj (40) said that the street lights of the area have not been working for the past two years, I have complained several times to the area councillor but no action towards it was taken till the date. “If an individual calls the officials of the civic body to get the problem resolved instead of helping they ask for money in return for fulfilling their duties,” Raj said. Narinder Kaur Captain, Congress candidate and former councillor from Kalkaji ward said that she is fighting the election on local issues as this is a corporation election.
“Though I had lost the last MCD elections but still fought for basic amenities. The residents along with me were forced to close several liquor shops here. Since pollution is a burning issue, we have decided to set up a smog tower, if we win the election. Besides this, we will be trying to clear garbage pile up and promote source segregation of waste,” Kaur said.