Chandni Chowk gets cleaned after 5 days
Over the last few days, there were piles of trash, smell of rotten food and overturned garbage bins as both MCD and PWD refused to work.
A day after partially cleaning the piles of waste spilling onto the streets of Chandni Chowk, workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) undertook an intensive cleaning drive across the market to thoroughly clean the litter and filth that had accumulated over the last five days.
Over the last few days, visitors to the historic market were greeted with piles of trash, the smell of rotten food, and overturned garbage bins as two agencies — MCD and the Public Works Department (PWD) both refused to take up the sanitation work citing jurisdictional issues.
On Thursday, the Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Praveen Khandelwal, inspected the area and stressed that the situation was worsening due to multiplicity of agencies. He said that plans are afoot to restructure Shahjahnabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) as a single agency to look after the affairs of Old Delhi.
“Chandni Chowk is the centre of various trades in the country and is a historical place. We will do everything to restore its cultural heritage and dignity. We are planning the restructuring of the SRDC, which will single-handedly look after this historical location. The situation is worsening as several agencies are taking care of the place, and they are only blaming each other...”
Local traders said that structural mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure such a showdown does not happen again. Sanjay Bhargava, of Chandni Chowk Vyapaar Mandal, said a long-term plan needs to be put in place to keep the glory of Chandni Chowk intact.
“The private company (to whom PWD had outsourced the work) had deployed 200 workers, pressure jet machines, and mechanical cleaners to keep the stretch clean. MCD cannot do the same work with 10-15 people. A comprehensive arrangement with cleaning machines needs to be put in place,” he added.
Bhargava said that SRDC should be made a statutory body like the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).
Expressing concerns about the poor civic conditions in Chandni Chowk, Khandelwal instructed officials to prepare a comprehensive action plan to ensure that every point of concern is tackled without delay. “Roads littered with dirt, unresolved potholes, and unauthorised encroachments will not be acceptable and need to be urgently addressed. Besides insanitation, there was rampant encroachment on various stretches including revamped road and direction was issued to remove it on priority,” he said.
The inspection on Thursday covered the main Chandni Chowk road, Bhagirath Palace, Fountain, Nai Sadak, Dangal Maidan, Railway Station Road, Church Mission Road and Khari Baoli.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said: “Due to the negligence of the Delhi government’s PWD, cleaning activities in Chandni Chowk have been halted for the past six days. MCD should ensure cleaning in Chandni Chowk twice a day and appoint 15 special cleaning workers for the task.”
The Aam Aadmi Party did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment. But, it earlier said that there was no tussle between MCD and PWD regarding the sanitation work. “Both departments had been working in coordination to address the issue. Now, it has been handed over to the MCD, which will handle it moving forward,” the AAP had said.