Faridabad residents protest poor civic facilities

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, February 13

Residents of some of the residential colonies located in the Neharpar (Greater Faridabad) area staged a demonstration today to highlight the civic problems.

“The civic amenities in a majority of the colonies in the area is pathetic, making thousands of residents suffer,’’ said Payal Raghav a resident of Gaddha Colony, located in Ward 28 of the Municipal Corporation. Claiming that while the colony was more than 20 years old, all assurances made so far had proved to be hollow as the residents are yet to get the facilities of water, sewerage and roads. “I feel ashamed to call my relatives here due to poor civic conditions,’’ says Raghav, who adds that shifting out from here is also not easy due to the problems.” “We built a house in the area trusting the word of a local councillor but the situation has failed to improve in the past 10 years,” says Rajesh Dahiya, another resident.

Poor amenities making us suffer

The civic amenities in a majority of the colonies in the area are pathetic, making thousands of residents suffer. Payal Raghav, a resident of gaddha colony

Waterlogging not addressed

Waterlogging in the area is common after a downpour. Residents are at risk of falling into pits as they are left with no option but to wade through slush and dirty water. Vijay, a senior citizen

Tackling problems on a priority basis

Any grievance regarding basic amenities is being dealt on a priority basis. A senior official, MC, Faridabad

“The waterlogging in the area is common after a downpour, the residents are at risk of falling into pits as they are left with no option but to wade through slush and dirty water that remains stagnant for days,” says Vijay, a senior citizen. Dharam Raj from Karuna Colony said though sewer and water pipelines had been laid some time ago, they are yet to be connected to the mainline. “The funds allocated for the project may have been siphoned off,” he said.

Paras Bhardwaj from ‘Save Faridabad’, an NGO , which coordinated the protest ,said the lingering issue of poor civic amenities had forced the residents to come out on the road, which he said was a cause of concern. Alleging that the authorities have failed miserably in providing the basic facilities of water supply, sanitation, roads, drains, streetlights, garbage and solid waste disposal, he said this was a blot on the face of the Smart City project, on which Rs 3000 crore had been spent in the past few years.

Any grievance regarding the basic amenities was being dealt on a priority basis, said a senior official of the MC.