The Hindu : New Delhi News : Protest against mall being built by DDA

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 23, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Protest against mall being built by DDA

Staff Reporter

A rare display of solidarity

NEW DELHI: Fighting for their right to water, residents of Vasant Vihar and Vasant Kunj took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the upcoming mall being built by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Nelson Mandela Marg connecting Vasant Vihar to Vasant Kunj. Shouting slogans to save the Ridge and stop building of malls, it was a rare display of solidarity in Delhi with one posh colony and Asia's largest housing colony joining hands to save the fast dwindling `green' in the city.

Apart from residents of the area, students of Indian Institute of Technology and school-children from around the area also came out in large numbers to join the protest. "It is a violation of human rights. The access to basic necessities like drinking water is our right. Building this shopping mall will ensure that we will not get any water as this is a major catchment area. If we don't have water, what good will this glitzy shopping mall do for us? The Delhi Development Authority claims that there is no water for us, but is planning to pump in huge amounts for the mall. It is not fair,'' rued a Vasant Kunj resident.

A blatant destruction of the "green'', they claim that the stretch that has been clearly demarcated as Ridge by the Geological Survey of India, however, has not been included in the Master Plan despite an order by the Supreme Court in 1996-97 clearly stating that it should be

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