Parties busy in poll battle, locals feel neglected

Three heavyweights — AAP’s Atishi, her bitter rival BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri, and Congress’ “vocal” woman leader who even heads the party’s pan-India women wing Alka Lamba — have locked horns for the Assembly elections at the high-profile Kalkaji constituency in southeast Delhi.

A bitter contest is already in the offing with AAP calling the BJP a “gaalibaaj” (abusive) party for a reason that its candidate Ramesh Bidhuri made controversial remarks on CM Atishi that were probably not taken in good taste by any of the candidates.

However, beneath all the bitter contention, conflict, and contest within the three major parties, lie a plethora of issues that are yet to be addressed and are being faced everyday by the ‘aam aadmi’ (common man).

Roads filled with potholes, polluted household water, and piles of garbage welcoming the commuters on every stretch of the constituency are some of the key problems.

In Govindpuri’s Navjiwan Camp, dissatisfaction with the current administration has been palpable. While some residents criticised Bidhuri’s remarks, they acknowledged his previous efforts as an MP.

“His language was unacceptable, but during his tenure as MP, he initiated a water tank project here. Unfortunately, it’s been defunct for years due to poor maintenance,” says 42-year-old Ram Lakhan, who runs a local stationery shop.

Lakhan felt that the ruling party has somehow neglected the Kalkaji area which he says was evident from the condition of roads even as the government was recently repairing roads at other places in the city. “Our roads have been in terrible condition for years. They are fixing roads elsewhere but ignore ours,” he complained.

Pertinently, Kalkaji is one of Delhi’s oldest and most affluent neighborhoods. When The Tribune visited the constituency to check the nerve of the people before the Assembly polls, it found that the constituency was probably neglected by the government for quite some time, as alleged by the people.

People complained that parties always remained busy in shifting the blame game while the residents continued to suffer.

A local, Radhe Shyam, credited central government schemes which he claimed had improved their living condition. “Over 2,000 flats were allocated to residents here, giving us shelter and food security. Freebies can’t last forever; basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter are essential, the rest depends on hard work,” he said.

The locals seemed fed up with illegal encroachments which they claimed caused traffic jams in multiple areas of the constituency. “Unauthorised structures have led to severe traffic congestion during peak hours. Moreover, it jeopardises pedestrian safety,” a local named Surender Suri said.

Another resident complained of excessive garbage dumping in Sriniwaspuri’s Indira Gandhi Camp. “The foul smell and untidy roads have become our reality,” remarked Shivani, a resident.