JOIN USClean India started here but area sees no change
Over three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept the streets of Valmiki Sadan in Central Delhi with a broom, residents feel little has changed there.
The visit has remained only a “token gesture” of the launch of the cleanliness drive, said residents. The nationwide attention that the colony, which comes under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), gained during that time has also been short-lived. However, poor water supply, unhygienic living conditions are still a part of residents’ lives here.
“We have not benefitted in any way from the launch of the drive in our colony. No party person has even visited us to know our day-to-day problems. It was only to attract publicity. We expect a party leader should come and visit us at least to bring a change in the colony,” said Sushila, who runs a kirana store.
Residents say that such symbolic drives are meaningless until things improve in the colony and otherwise. The civic body has given little attention to the poor water supply in the area, they said.
“The water supply in our colony is irregular and the quality of water is poor. Often, residents in the area get ill due to that. We wanted to voice our concerns when the colony attracted attention during the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. But no political person interacted with us. Such drives are only to attract publicity,” said Lalita.
“Our lives go on as usual with nobody to lend an ear to our problems,” she added.
After the initial few days of “three shifts of cleanliness”, cleanliness in the area has now gone down, said residents.
“Look around for yourself and the area is what it used to be. People are still living in cramped and unhygienic conditions. There is no extra effort to keep the area clean. Modiji’s campaign has not made any difference to us,” said Seema, a homemaker.
NDMC speaks
Sukha Ram, an ex-member of the NDMC, said the area has always been better maintained than other colonies. He added residents do not see the point of the colony being the launchpad of Modi’s nationwide campaign.
“We saw them putting garbage on the streets for Modiji to clean. This area has always been better maintained than other colonies,” said Sukha Ram.
A few residents claimed that the campaign has made some difference to the area with the civic body taking more efforts to clean the area. “Our area was always clean. The level of cleanliness has improved. May be because it is linked to the Prime Minister’s visit,” said Vipin.