The residents of Vasant Kunj, considered to be one of the tony colonies of South Delhi, face myriad issues like inadequate sanitation and garbage management, encroachment, upkeep and maintenance of parks and open gyms, and inadequate street-lighting among broken roads, among others.
The area has 41 RWAs whose office bearers wanted systematic development of the entire area, possible only with the proactive involvement of officials of the MCD, Delhi Jal Board, Health Department, PWD, Irrigation & Flood Control Department and the law enforcement agencies including the traffic police. They flagged persistent problems like encroachment, traffic mismanagement, parking chaos and filthy public places as priority areas, and pointed out that many residents of the area, especially women, felt unsafe after sunset due to inadequate street lighting.
“Vasant Kunj needs proper street lighting. Many of us often feel insecure when we return home during the night. Though the government agencies do pay attention to the civic issues facing residents of South Delhi, they can do much more. Residents living here pay more taxes in comparison to many other parts of the Capital but don’t get proportionate facilities,” said Ameena Talwar, MCD brand ambassador and an area resident.
Vinod Pant, a working professional living in the area for the last 15 years who is a former chairman of the Federation of RWAs of Vasant Kunj, says that irritants like congestion on the roads, traffic mismanagement, encroachment of public places, etc must be resolved right away.“I find no improvement as far as civic issues are concerned. For example, despite garbage management through source segregation, one can see the dumping of household waste on some occasions. I have all the right to demand improved civic services,” he said.
NK Vaid, general secretary, B2 Park View RWA, said that the area should have at least one multi-level parking. “The area faces parking issues, hence a multilevel facility should be provided. There must also be a check on haphazard parking along the roadside,” he said.
MCD officials, on their part, maintained that the agency was very much active on the ground to provide seamless service to the colony’s residents. They claimed that they were paying due attention to address issues like public encroachments, sanitation and cleanliness and maintenance of parks. “There are routine activities which we carry out as part of our routine duties and we will continue to do so,” said a senior official of the civic agency.
Reached for comments, Angel Bhati Chauhan, deputy commissioner of MCD’s South Zone, told this newspaper, “The MCD maintains civic services on a daily basis. We discuss issues with the RWAs and area representatives regularly and also provide solutions. If anything comes to our notice, we will address it.”
Chairman of the Federation of RWAs of Vasant Kunj, Rajesh Panwar, while talking to Anup Verma, flagged various issues concerning the colony. He said that though they were coordinating with the govt agencies regarding them, time-bound redressal was often a problem.
What are the main issues facing Vasant Kunj?
Removal of encroachments mainly from the pavements and roadsides and public places, removal of abandoned vehicles dumped at parking spaces of the colonies and removal of posters and banners from the walls which made the colony look shabby.
Is there proper garbage collection from the colony?
Garbage management is a very important activity to keep the area clean. We want SSIL garbage collection from dhalaos/secondary hotspots/dustbins.
The area seems to be facing a stray dog menace with many incidents of dog bites being reported from the colony lately. What is the RWA are expecting from the concerned agencies?
To address this particular issue, the dogs must be constantly sterilised. It is imperative to remove stray cattle from public areas/vacant places/ main roads of Vasant Kunj and the surroundings which is a big cause of accidents and a constant threat for the senior citizens. The agencies must chalk out a plan to provide an effective solution to this.
What can be done to give a facelift to the colony and make it more amendable for the residents?
There should be rainwater harvesting systems, maintenance of parks, tree pruning and repair of roads, removal of solid waste, segregation of waste at every household, home composting, cleaning of drains by removing silt, etc on a regular basis.