The Hindu : New Delhi News : Small gate, big problem

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 09, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Small gate, big problem

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JULY 8 . Employees and visitors to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) are facing a peculiar problem these days owing to an "arbitrary decision" by senior functionaries of the civic body to ban the use of the main entry gate at Palika Kendra for pedestrians. Now a small gate on Parliament Street has been opened which is causing them great inconvenience.

NDMC officials said the step had been taken to allow smooth movement of vehicles that enter Palika Kendra from the main gate from where a driveway leads to the main building complex. "As pedestrians were occupying the driveway all the time making it unsafe for them as well as motorists, we decided to open another entry gate exclusively for them thus ensuring their safety."

However, the employees have a different story to tell. "A fortnight ago, the vehicle of a senior official was coming out of the complex when a group of employees who were walking down the driveway were a little slow in making way for the vehicle even as the driver kept honking. This annoyed the official who immediately got the authorities to ban the use of main gate by pedestrians and restrict their movement on the driveway. He instead got the new gate opened for them," employees said.

With this began the harassment of employees and visitors who allege that the private security guards deployed at both the gates were not allowing entry of visitors to the complex or making unnecessary enquiries from them while entering the building. "It is a civic agency where people come for various work. And the private guards who have no idea about the functioning of the civic body question people who visit Palika Kendra everyday," they alleged.

The NDMC employees are also not happy with the new arrangement as they say that the new gate is too small to allow free movement and is also located near an overcrowded bus stop. Besides, the pedestrian walkway from the gate to the main building is narrow and missing signages in the area cause inconvenience to the people, they added.

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