Large number of drug addicts and thieves around ITO must have been thrilled at the site of a new iron railing being installed by the Delhi Government Public Works Department right outside the Police Headquarters.
A large part of a similar railing that was installed some years back was cut off by these thieves. But that did not stop the authorities from pumping in more iron – despite knowing fully well that it attracts petty criminals because of the money the stolen pieces of metal fetch.
Be it iron railings, the support pipes installed on the side walls of flyovers, iron claddings, concertina wires, gutter covers or anything made of metal – all of this is viewed as easy money by the thieves, who mostly steal it for their daily dose of drugs.
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While authorities can easily use concrete bollards as road dividers, as has been done effectively between Teen Murti and Chankyapuri police station, surprisingly more expensive options have been chosen. Only our planners can tell why.
Pizza in 30 minutes may be a rage. But often the delivery boys, in setting a scorching pace for themselves, transgress road rules and break the laws.
On the Noida road near Mayur Vihar, such violations have become a daily affair. Here the pizza delivery boys regularly use the cycle track on the side of the main road to zip through on their bikes.
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Those among them headed from the Samachar Apartments side to Mayur Vihar-I prefer taking this fast but wrong approach instead of going via the Noida Bund Road. Since the right approach for them is longer and more time consuming, the delivery boys cold shoulder the rules – ostensibly to serve the pizza hot.
The Shadipur metro station situated in Patel Nagar and falling within the West Delhi area can surely win an award for the dirtiest metro station in the world. Shoddy construction work ensures that one cannot walk to the station from the gates without getting one’s feet sucked into the ground. The periphery of the station is surrounded by beggars and vagabonds who openly defecate right there, the evidence of which is never cleaned up.
Abandoned clothing, slippers and the awful stench make most citizens pay extra every day and use the not-so-near Patel Nagar metro station, which thankfully has not been reduced to such a horrible state.
The saddest part is all this has been written about before but has failed to stir either the civic authorities or the Delhi Metro authorities into action.
The importance of having civic sense seems to have been lost on the civic bodies. At a recent lunch hosted by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, councillors were seen breaking queues and littering the well-maintained environs of the Civic Centre.
While waiting for his turn at the dessert station, one councillor looked around to see if anyone was looking. Satisfied that no one was, he threw a paper napkin on the floor, right next to a bin.
Unfortunately for him, many people also waiting for the kulfi to be served saw the councillor littering. This led his lunch companions wondering whether he could have the streets of his ward cleaned up if he could not be bothered to throw garbage into a bin. After all, sanitation is the corporation’s foremost responsibility.