This story is from April 13, 2017

Delhi civic polls: Seemapuri borders on zero growth

Seemapuri, as the name suggests, is the last constituency in northeast Delhi bordering Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi civic polls: Seemapuri borders on zero growth
Garbage, strewn all over the place in Seemapuri, is more than an eyesore.
NEW DELHI: Seemapuri, as the name suggests, is the last constituency in northeast Delhi bordering Uttar Pradesh. Here too, civic infrastructure is in an abysmal state and residents rue that corruption at the lower levels in East Delhi Municipal Corporation has made their lives difficult.
There are four wards in Seemapuri — New Seemapuri, Nand Nagri, Sunder Nagri and Dilshad Garden.
With a population of almost 2.3 lakh, this densely populated area hasn’t seen any major changes through the delimitation exercise.
While Dilshad Garden has middle and lower-middle class families, the two Nagris mostly comprise unauthorised colonies inhabited by cooks, drivers and daily wage labourers. New Seemapuri, on the other hand, is largely made up of jhuggi-jhopri and T-hut clusters. Thousands of families here sustain themselves by working as sweepers and ragpickers. While they keep Delhi clean, their own homes continue to be in a deplorable condition.
Mohammad Imran (30), a ragpicker, while removing the metallic caps from a heap of empty medicine bottles, said, “This is the only way we can feed our families, but that doesn’t mean we want to live in filth. Instead of clearing the area, municipal workers dump garbage in our localities.”
These bastis have narrow lanes, plots full of garbage and high tension wires dangle low dangerously. “For the last 10 years, we have been hearing that a barat ghar will be constructed here. But this place has instead become a kooda ghar,” rued Rahima (60), a resident of E-Block in New Seemapuri. The residents also claim that the EDMC toilets are cleaned once a month using dirty water.
Sunil Jha, the councillor from New Seemapuri ward, argued that as a large portion of his area comprises JJ clusters, the rules on spending his funds make work difficult. “Slums and jhuggis are looked after by DUSIB. Despite EDMC’s financial crisis and rules disallowing me to use funds in such areas, I took up many projects. The next councillor should focus on covering the drains and cleaning up the area,” he said.

Residents, however, argued that an integrated agency should cater to their area instead of a powerless councillor. “This drama lasts just a few weeks every five years,” said Jegun Bibi (60), who has seen several cycles of unfulfilled promises.
The unauthorised colonies of Nand Nagri and Sunder Nagri have comparatively better conditions. However, due to the absence of dhalaos and door-to-door collection of garbage remaining a distant dream, the parks are slowly turning into dump yards. Cattle can be seen grazing in most of the parks. The heavily encroached areas also have a thriving scrap market amidst them.
Gyaneshwar Dutt, a resident of Sunder Nagri, said, “Despite NGT banning gas cutters in the scrap market, they continue to be used due to lack of enforcement. The toxic fumes that come out of them have made our lives difficult.”
The overflowing garbage has also resulted in stray dogs roaming freely in the localities. Even Dilshad Garden, which is better planned, suffers from this problem. Dr Rajiv Lochan, a physician in A-Block, said, “I receive dozens of dog bite cases every week.”
Rinku, the representative from Nand Nagri, said that while others give excuses about the financial crisis in the corporation, she has been able to spend Rs 40-45 crore on various developmental projects in her area, including the biggest barat ghar of east Delhi. “If elected again, I will start covering all the drains,” she added.
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