Sin the heart of plush South Delhi with Vasant Vihar bordering it on one side,
R K Puram on the second and JNU on the third, you’d think that Munirka Village would at least be similar - if not at par with its posh neighbourhood.
But you’d be so wrong. As one hops over puddles of dirty, stagnant water on pot-holed streets, water pipes lying around, and heaps of construction material strewn about hindering smooth movement of traffic in the colony bylanes, you realise that not only are far from truth, the reality of infrastructure is much worse than you imagined.
The residents, it appears are virtually immune to their miserable conditions. “It has been like this for the past six months at least, and no civic agency has taken steps to improve them,” says Nagaland born Asha, 20, a resident since seven months.
While the water pipes obstruct the way for even the pedestrians, the dangling and tangled wires overhead on the facades of unauthorised constructions paint a scarier picture. One dare not even imagine what may happen in the case of a short circuit.
As locations go, Munirka Village is at right angles with Ring Road on one side and Nelson Mandela Marg on the other. The locale per se should have allowed for dirt-free lanes and clutter free shops but that is not the case. A leak and subsequent break in a water pipe occurred seven months ago but Delhi Jal Board (DLB) remains oblivious to persistent complaints.
Occupants, born and brought up in the area, now turn a blind eye to place’s pitiable conditions, including the mosquito-ridden garbage disposal trucks in front of houses. “We have nowhere else to go, this is our home,” sighs a septagunarian.
Originally falling under the Lal Dora scheme, Munirka Village’s residents have moved out to places like Vasant Kunj and DDA flats of neighbouring Munirka Vihar to give a ‘better atmosphere to their children’ and sublet their original properties. While the DDA grants permission for construction of perhaps two floors, norms have been openly flouted by residents who have constructed at least five-six floors per building which fetch them rents anywhere between Rs 5-8 lakhs per month.
The locality has grown from a population of 20,000 to over two lakhs today, and is bursting at the seams. But on a more a positive note, a 500 year old landmark Baba Ganganath Mandir boasts of lush lawns and a DDA complex nearby offers sports facilities for children. Sports like wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo are a major attraction for residents and are taught free of cost.
Special trainers from BSF train youth and children between 5-20 in martial arts in the evenings in the grand hall in front of the temple.
Bharat Singh Rathi, General Secretary, Munirka Village Resident Welfare Association, however, cites improvement in the overall conditions of the place. “In the last six years several open sewers have been covered making it safer and hygienic for the residents. During Commonwealth Games, two pipes placed under the columns of Vasant Vihar flyover were combined into one.”
The Association members had requested for a three-foot pipe to replace the current-obsolete twelve inches pipe. The village happens to be the only region in Delhi that has cemented pipes. The demand for setting up iron pipes has been worked on. What does need to be taken care of urgently is the broken sewer near Ganganath Mandir on Mandela Marg which makes it difficult for people to hold ceremonies because of the stink.
Munirka Village may paint a picture of consistent change but it has a long way to go before it can come anywhere near close to being a colony.