The beautification drive may have got Connaught Place new, artistic windowpanes, but traders are not too happy with them. Reason: They leak.
Questioning the quality of the work being carried out at the heritage market, the traders said the contractors hired by the New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) have done a shoddy job. “The new window frames are not sealed properly and leak when it rains.
Most of the area near the windows in our restaurant gets flooded,” said Karuna Kant Devnath, manager of QBA, a lounge in Block E. A week ago, QBA’s entire window frame fell down on the pavement below. The dampness could be easily felt on touching the walls and wood near the windows. “The quality of work is questionable.
Windows have not been sealed properly and hence they leak. It is like rainfall inside the room,” said an owner of a building in CP, who did not want to be named. “I spent R60,000 to get all the windows in the building sealed. I also had to get the flooring in my office replaced as it got flooded with rainwater.” Other traders agreed. “I am lucky that I have a shop on the ground floor and have not had any such problems so far but I do know that the people on the first and second floors are suffering because of leakages,” said Harjit Kochhar, owner of a gift shop in CP.
“There is a major fault in the window design and many people are having problems as they leak,” confirmed Atul Bhargava, president of New Delhi Traders Association. The traders are also up in arms against the green patches in the parking lot. “The whole idea is flawed.
When it rains, the parking lot fills up with water and looks like a mini swimming pool. Had they laid the area with concrete, the water could have easily been drained away,” said Mohan Aggarwal, owner of Mohan Lal and Sons. Officials denied all allegations of inferior quality of work. “We are using proper sealants in fixing the windows and there is no such problem,” said Anand Tewari, NDMC's spokesperson.