City residents have been complaining of a host of issues, such as waterlogging, poor arterial roads, parking scarcity, and winter pollution. The problems are more acute in densely populated or resettlement colonies. Prabhat Shukla speaks with BS Vohra, President of the Federation of East Delhi Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), to learn about their plights and possible solutions.
Excerpts.
What is the most pressing issue that East Delhi residents face?
I can’t single out one issue as there are so many here. But the foremost issue is waterlogging. Even a drizzle leads to waterlogged streets. This is how things have been for the past forty years. The drainage pipes are decades old, and many have become clogged and non-functional. Leakages are also very common. In the meantime, the population has increased manifold. It is not just rainwater.
Sewer backflows make the situation far worse, with the water often entering people’s homes. The situation is so bad that many have been forced to build another wall to keep the water out. De-silting drives exist only on paper, and barely five percent of the drains are covered. What is needed is a complete overhaul of the drainage system.
Traffic has increased significantly over the years. Is it managed in East Delhi?
If roads cannot be widened, then one-ways are needed. But this still needs to be done. Moreover, traffic signals are on the main streets, not the inner roads. Traffic Police is also stationed only on the main roads. As a result, we witness unnecessarily long traffic jams and resultant air pollution. Parking is another matter. We have narrow lanes and large vehicles. We now see three to four cars per household with nowhere to park. Parking is done haphazardly wherever space is found, including marketplaces. Multi-level parking has a limited scope. We must urgently implement a one household, one car policy and encourage public transportation.
What is the garbage collection situation in the area? Has the general cleanliness improved?
Although daily garbage collection has improved, strikes by sanitation workers are most frequent in East Delhi. The accumulation of small dumping sites has also reduced. At the same time, the massive garbage mountain at Ghazipur has remained as it is.
East Delhi has the lowest proportion of green cover in the capital. Has anything been done to address this?
The green cover needs to be improved in East Delhi. We previously had a green belt, but it has been replaced with houses. Several times, I had written to authorities to ask for support to plant thousands of trees near the Yamuna Bank at Geeta colony, turning it into a mini forest. But no one was interested in the idea, so we had to drop the plan. There are also not enough public parks to cater to the growing population.
Do you think empowering RWAs can improve the city’s civic infrastructure? Can government funding help in this regard?
I don’t think government funding for RWAs is a good idea. This can lead to people randomly creating new RWAs just to get funds. But RWAs definitely need to be empowered, and our concerns should be heard seriously. We are capable and qualified. The government needs to open a channel of communication with us. It is almost impossible for us to meet with CM.