Traffic jams, water crisis continue

Two mishaps on consecutive days and six deaths later, the people of Zumrudpur Village are living in fear. “We are living in constant fear,” said Yogesh Verma (33), who was asked to evacuate his house because it was too close to the accident site.

Two mishaps on consecutive days and six deaths later, the people of Zumrudpur Village are living in fear.

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“We are living in constant fear,” said Yogesh Verma (33), who was asked to evacuate his house because it was too close to the accident site.

“Not only is the fallen pillar at a stone’s throw from my residence, it is also adjacent to the four shops that were destroyed on Monday,” he said.

The area is also suffering from water scarcity after the water pipe was damaged in the area in the first accident.

“The whole village is being forced to purchase water. There are two Delhi Jal Board water carriers for the whole village and they are supplying dirty water,” said Rajesh Prashad Gupta (42), a salesman.

“Only those who have electric pumps have had access to water. Others have been running to private vendors,” said Ajay Singh (30), a shopkeeper.

The rain has added to the residents’ woes. The narrow passage of a road, on which supply trucks carrying cement for Metro work are parked, have potholes and vehicles trying to dodge them cause problems for pedestrians.

“There's so much congestion that you have to wait for at least 10 minutes before you can cross over to the other side,” said Ram Nayak (27), a courier boy.

With a traffic diversion in place for those travelling towards Lady Shriram College and Nehru Place, commuters complained of being forced to take a crowded, kilometer-long detour. “One has to travel an extra kilometer and go through Sant Nagar. The route gets very crowded during school time and rush hour,” said Ajay Singh.

Yogesh Verma said he is forced to get up an hour early now to drop his kids to school.