Mahipalpur residents complain of bad roads and waste management issue.
| Photo Credit: File photo

“In the eight years that I have lived here, I never saw the roads clean,” complains Savitha Kesarvali, a resident of south-west Delhi’s Mahipalpur village. Although the residents of the area paint a different picture, the “development narrative” in the village is touted by the Delhi government.

At an event inaugurating piped natural gas lines to 111 villages in the Capital, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday lauded the modernisation of Mahipalpur’s compressed natural gas (CNG) station, a move aimed at enhancing service delivery and operational efficiency. The village also saw the installation of large scrap-metal sculptures ahead of the G-20 summit, which was held in India two years ago.

Despite infrastructure upgrades like a revamped CNG station and the beautification efforts ahead of the G-20 summit, residents claim they continue to live in “appalling civic conditions marked by open drains and poor waste management”.

Beautifying the roundabout doesn’t clean the filth on our streets, says Sarvan Kumar, a grocery store owner, pointing to open drains running along both sides of the main road, filled with stagnant sewage and garbage.

“They [the civic body] dug up the roads before the elections, assuring to fix it. Two years have passed, and it has become worse now. Children are falling sick with dengue and other diseases,” he said.

“When it rains, the open drains overflow and mix with the sewage. The roads become filthy and unusable,” said Ricky Kesarvali, adding to his wife Savitha’s complaints.

Waste management issue

Another persistent concern is waste management, says Sanju Kesarvali, who is Savitha’s aunt. “Residents are often told to keep garbage in their homes for days due to irregular collection. We’ve filed complaints [with the authorities] multiple times. Most of the complaints are met with indifferences. When there’s a response, it’s either patchwork or temporary,” she said.

Despite the village being in the vicinity of major government offices and repeatedly promised attention from political leaders, their issues were not addressed by the authorities, the residents claim.

‘Promises never met’

Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, last year, instructed District Magistrates to spend nights in urban villages to understand ground realities. Ahead of the Assembly poll, several BJP leaders spent time in some urban villages to know the real challenges residents face. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had lauded these efforts, assuring voters that the BJP would resolve all civic issues in the areas. However, the residents state that the “promises were never met”

The residents of Mahipalpur demand “real changes” such as clean streets, timely garbage disposal, functional drains, and genuine attention to their needs, not just during election season but every day.

(With inputs from Isabel Jacob)