Games infrastructure crumbles

Just three months after the Commonwealth Games — when the capital was given a brand new look — the sheen has slowly started fading.

Just three months after the Commonwealth Games — when the capital was given a brand new look — the sheen has slowly started fading.

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This observation has come from none other than a senior Delhi Cabinet minister. Expressing concern over inadequate maintenance of the newly developed world-class infrastructure, Delhi finance and urban development minister Ashok Kumar Walia said there is bound to be an “irreparable loss to the city’s glory which drew attention and praise from the visitors, sports persons, officials, common men and international community during the Games”.

“Delhi was a green and clean city during the Games. But the greenery is now missing and debris and garbage have come back to the streets. Signboards are damaged and footpaths are broken. It is the duty of everyone to maintain these,” he said.

Damaged paint, potholed roads, dirty pedestrian bridges, shabby landscaping, non-functional traffic lights and street lights and unauthorised construction are some problems that have come back, he said.

Interestingly, soon after the Games got over Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit had underlined the importance of maintaining the infrastructure. Asking various agencies to form separate teams to maintain the infrastructure, she had also constituted a committee headed by the chief secretary to coordinate the maintenance efforts. The Committee was to monitor the efforts of the teams on a monthly basis.

Walia said he has now written to the heads of DDA, MCD, NDMC, PWD, DTC, among other agencies to ensure proper upkeep of the infrastructure.

“If such negligence continues, the infrastructure may suffer substantial damage and its revival would be a Herculean task,” Walia said.

Unaware of such problems Dikshit said she had formed a committee for the maintenance of infrastructure, which must be meeting regularly.