Colony back lanes at the back of sanitation workers' minds

As a concept, the idea of back lanes is unique to Delhi. East Delhi's plotted colonies too have back lanes. And they are also aptly called service lanes, for they are mostly used for putting up utilities and can be useful in emergencies.

Back lanes

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As a concept, the idea of back lanes is unique to Delhi. East Delhi's plotted colonies too have back lanes. And they are also aptly called service lanes, for they are mostly used for putting up utilities and can be useful in emergencies.

But in recent years, a common problem that is plaguing back lanes in almost all colonies of east Delhi is garbage and the dumping of debris.

"Back lanes are cleaned only once in four-five days in our colony by the sanitation workers," complained Sunita Arora, a resident of Kiran Vihar.

Many complain that the dumped debris often flows into the drains. And since the civic agency hardly ever carries out desilting, most drains remain clogged, Arora said. The problem becomes acute during monsoons, when due to clogged drains, dirty water overflows from the drains.

TK Balu, secretary of Railway Employees Cooperative Housing Society Ltd, Anand Vihar, agreed with Arora.

"The civic agency cleans up the main streets, but its sanitation workers hardly bother about service lanes," he said

Also, increasingly most plot owners in these posh colonies are converting their houses into builder flats. This has led to a rise in the dumping of construction material and debris in these back lanes.