The Hindu : New Delhi News : A treacherous walk

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Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

A treacherous walk

insidedelhi

A treacherous walk

Delhi may be aiming to become a world-class city, but its basic infrastructure remains abysmally poor. The Capital also lacks civic sense and a regard for the rule of the law that is generally found in cities of many developed countries.

It is probably only in Delhi that one would come across not one but a series of open manholes -- with their covers missing -- on a busy road like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, which also houses the residences of two Delhi Ministers as also the Chief Secretary of Delhi.

Taking a walk down the lush green road -- which owes its rejuvenation to the clearance of slums by former Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan -- from ITO side to Minto Bridge can prove really treacherous. For the footpath has a series of open manholes.

Though a peep inside these manholes reveals that there is no water, they are about 10 feet deep which is enough to leave someone grievously injured. Since the road -- also known as Rouse Avenue -- is also home to a number of institutes like Gandhi Peace Foundation, one would have normally assumed that the roads and the sidewalks would remain in absolute usable condition.

However, that is not the case. Not only are most of the pavements poorly laid, they are also not well lit, which make them just too dangerous to walk on at night.

With the road being a heavily used one, the neglect seems to stem from the general lackadaisical attitude of the authorities. With senior officials never venturing out, and the supervisors busy looking for ways and means of making money, nobody appears concerned at the fact that someone can lose his or her life due to their folly.

-- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Putting all doubts

to rest

If anyone had any doubts about the popularity of the chartbuster song "Kajrare Kajrare Tere Kaare Kaare Naina... .", the Capital's school children could well put that to rest.

The loud celebration inside a school buses returning with students after a practice sessions for the Republic Day Parade was an indicator enough of the popularity of the song.

While the bus stopped at a red light on Minto Road, students were heard singing aloud the number accompanied with the now famous Aishwarya Rai dance, much to the delight of commuters waiting for the lights to turn green.

"While the children looked tired after the practice session, the song-dance routine came as a welcome change -- not for them only, but for us also," remarked an auto-driver who was waiting at the red light alongside the bus carrying the students.

"The song has done well with the adult cinemagoers, but now we are sure that it is popular even among children. This year when we sit down to watch the January 26 parade we will think about the hard work that these children have put in and also remember the song and dance performance that we watched at the traffic light," added the driver.

-- Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Supporting a cause

The cause of greening the Capital has found more than just ordinary supporters. This Sunday saw those battling water-woes in Vasant Vihar and Vasant Kunj coming out to fight against construction of a mall by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Nelson Mandela Marg. Determined to stop the abuse of the Capital's oldest natural heritage, while it was encouraging to see citizens give up their precious Sunday leisure hours to come out on the streets and stand up for what they believe in, it was even more heartening to see celebrities go that extra length.

With three artists -- Jatin Das, Subroto Kundu and Sanjay Bhattacharya -- also giving up a lazy day at home to lend a helping hand for a cause that didn't directly affect them, it seems that sensitivity for the environment has grown.

An artist who was thanked by the organisers for making an effort to turn up retorted: "What do you mean `thank you'! I came because I am committed and care."

Unfortunately, while he might have made all the effort to support a cause for the betterment of the city, many of the residents of Vasant Vihar, a colony that will directly be affected by the building of the mall were noticeably absent. The reason: it was a holiday.

-- Mandira Nayar

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