NEW DELHI: If Mukherjee Nagar is known for UPSC preparation, Laxmi Nagar has made a mark in CA coaching.
The assembly segment, part of the East Delhi constituency, is home to hundreds of students preparing for the competitive examination and living in rented apartments.
With the influx of students, the area’s markets have also undergone significant changes. Eateries, stationery shops, bookstores, and real estate offices now dominate them.
Sadly, one thing that remains unchanged and has deteriorated with time is its narrow lanes, matchstick-type houses, encroachment, garbage-littered streets, street vendors’ mess, and traffic woes.
Issues
In 2023, Delhi Police surveyed the 117 road stretches and ten flyovers to identify the key traffic congestion points.
In East Delhi, Nirman Vihar and Laxmi Nagar on the Vikas Marg were identified as the congested points. Though the metro has covered this segment, the vehicular traffic remains dense.
Laxmi Nagar also struggles with urban woes — unregulated constructions, massive encroachment, unchecked commercialisation, deplorable sanitation and inadequate infrastructure.
The students living on rent or as paying guests say they fight daily for fresh air and sunlight as their rooms are tiny, with a single bed, and cost Rs 5 to 6,000.
Parking, sanitation, and drinking water availability are among the other issues. “Roads are in a very poor condition and full of dust. Construction and demolition waste is lying in the open in several places. The water supply is irregular,” says Akshay Kumar, 29, a resident of Laxmi Nagar.
“I will not vote for the AAP in Lok Sabha elections. My vote is for the BJP,” he adds.
The memories of the Lalita Park building collapse in 2010, which killed over 70 people still haunt the residents of the area. They say the government had promised to retrofit numerous unsafe buildings, but little has been done to address the problem.
Demography
It comprises middle-class migrants from western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Punjabi refugees. It sits at East Delhi’s centre, enabling good connectivity to Noida via Noida Link Road, Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar Road and other parts of Delhi like Connaught Place via Vikas Marg.
A dedicated metro station on the Blue Line and an interchanging metro station of Yamuna Bank at just one stop away ensure safe and economical travel to most parts of Delhi NCR. In the last seven major elections, AAP and Congress have won the polls twice each while three times by the BJP.
Migrant population living on rent
The students living on rent or as paying guests say they fight daily for fresh air and sunlight as their rooms are tiny, with a single bed and cost Rs 6,000 per month