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Choc-a-bloc with traffic, no space to walk
Amid honking cars, autorickshaws, buses and trucks, 79-year-old Surinder Bawa tries to make his way from the market to his house. History | People profile | Wards
Amid honking cars, autorickshaws, buses and trucks, 79-year-old Surinder Bawa tries to make his way from the market to his house.
His house is hardly 500 metres away, but it takes Bawa more than half-an-hour to get there.
"Walking in this area is such a nightmare, especially for senior citizens. Most of us have started to rely on home delivery to get even basic things such as toothpaste. Such a situation in an area where a three-bedroom flat sells for over 1.5 crore is lamentable," said Bawa, who has been staying in Malviya Nagar for the past 50 years.
The poorly maintained footpaths, encroachment and the lack of a dedicated parking space have made moving around in Malviya Nagar and the neighbouring Saket difficult for citizens.
The lack of parking space and the resulting jams are the other major problems that plague residents of both areas.
"Both these areas have seen tremendous commercial growth in the past one decade, but not a single government agency has thought about providing the facilities required to sustain this commercial growth," said Kulbir Singh, president, Residents Welfare Association, E Block Malviya Nagar.
"Malviya Nagar now has restaurants of top chains and branches of most banks, but not the parking space that is imperative to support this growth. As for Saket, the sort of traffic that the malls attract is unmanageable," he added.
This along with the large number of schools in Saket, clog roads during the early morning and afternoon and make commuting frustrating.
"There are more than 10 private schools and various other government schools in Saket. Schools do not have any parking provisions for buses - a situation that results in traffic snarls," said Bansi Lal, president, Social Welfare Action Society, Saket.
The RWAs and residents of both areas have written to the councillors about the issues several times, but the situation has not improved.
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