There is good news for residents of Dwarka, as South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has started setting up benches on footpaths across the sub-city. Sector 6 is one of the first to get these benches set up.
According to Kamaljeet Sehrawat, mayor of SDMC, these benches are essentially meant for senior citizens and parents of schoolchildren who have to wait endlessly on footpaths for school buses to arrive.
In a conversation with City Spidey, Sehrawat said, “We are providing 250 benches across the sub-city. All footpaths between adjacent societies will have two benches. Two such benches have already been fixed near Guru Apartments and Vrindavan Apartments in Sector 6. People are appreciating the initiative.”
Talking about what made her undertake this initiative, she said, “I observed that when grandparents come to collect young children from the bus stops, they get tired as there is no place to sit. This is why I decided to construct two benches in Sector 6. People welcomed the initiative, and that encouraged me.”
Ravi Jaitley, a resident of Harsukh Apartments, Sector 7, and former general secretary of Senior Citizens Association, Dwarka, said, “Providing benches on footpaths is indeed a good initiative. However, the benches should have a bucket-type structure instead of a flat surface, so people cannot use them to sleep at night. I am a senior citizen and hence this move has benefited me too."
"I would also like to request the mayor to instal bio-toilets near major red-light crossings," he added. "If this is done, the drains along the main roads will not be used as urinals, which, unfortunately, is the case now.”
