Lutyens' Delhi not free from clutches of open defecation
The New Delhi Municipal Council claims that Lutyens' Delhi is free of open defecation. However, a Mail Today visit discovers otherwise.
In Short
- The NDMC has claimed that Lutyens' Delhi is free from open defecation.
- A visit by Mail Today found that people still relieve themselves in the open.
- NDMC officials admit that they haven't been able to entirely tackle the problem.
Contrary to the popular claims by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the Lutyens' Delhi is not free from the clutches of open-defecation. Even after the NDMC declared the tony New Delhi as a clean India's dream come true, a visit by Mail Today discovered contrary along the railway line running behind the grand Lalit Hotel.
The railway line stretch running behind the business corridor - Barakhamba Road to the New Delhi railway station - is seen as the first resort by passengers to migrant labourers to slum dwellers for answering nature's call. The Shivaji Bridge railway station houses one washroom on every platform, currently in a deplorable condition, which passengers have conveniently preferred to ignore and use an isolated spot to urinate.
"Where do you expect me to go when the only washroom on this platform has urine flowing out of it," a passenger told Mail Today who took a quick break to relieve himself on the track. Agreeing to the problem, NDMC officials said they have been unable to tackle the problem. In their recent effort, the council deployed 25 mascots across Lutyens' Delhi to stop people from littering, defecating and urinating in public areas.
"I have encountered a minimum of 60-70 people after five in the morning from the time I was given the railway line and I whistle from distance to stop the slum dwellers and train passengers from defecating in open," said a mascot striving to ensure the railway line is not used for defecation.
NDMC officials also said they have tried every method to ensure that no one has to defecate in public areas. "There are 292 washrooms for public within the stretch of 50-200 metre. They are fully functional and are used but the demography changes along the railway line," an official told Mail Today. "The Railway line stretch behind the college lane and Shankar Market do not come under the jurisdiction of New Delhi Municipal Council," the officials added.
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