Devoted to improving his colony

For Hari Prakash Gupta, a retired government engineer, getting the sewage system changed in the Model Town colony has become his life’s mission.

For Hari Prakash Gupta, a retired government engineer, getting the sewage system changed in the Model Town colony has become his life’s mission.

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Gupta has been living in the colony since 1950 when it was first constructed and is appalled by the deteriorating state of the sewage system in his area.

“The sewage system has never been changed. It was built at a time when the population was low and the nearby areas were not developed. With the rising population, the pressure on the system has increased but it has not been upgraded accordingly.

The old pipes cannot take the strain anymore which leads to waterlogging in the area,” said Gupta, a resident of C block in Model Town.

To overcome the problem, Gupta even filed a Right to Information (RTI) application asking the authorities what they had done to replace the sewage pipes.

"In 2002, the chief minister had promised that the six-inch wide pipes will be replaced by 10-inch wide pipes. Three years ago, I filed an RTI application asking them what has been done in this regard. They told us that they will be replaced in the next three years. But nothing has been done so far,” said Gupta.

“Last year, when Yamuna breached the danger level twice many people in the area packed bags and left in panic,” said Gupta. “We don’t get even clean drinking water. Besides, there is acute shortage of water in the area also," said Gupta.