Despite several meetings, letters from police to civic bodies, RWAs’ correspondence and numerous requests, hundreds of Dwarka’s parks under DDA and MCD continue to remain shrouded in darkness. This is in spite of several proposals to properly light the parks having been passed in the meetings of higher authorities of Delhi. In 2013, the then LG had asked the civic bodies to ensure proper lighting in parks. Since then the issue has been raised several times in various meetings, but neither the MCD nor the DDA has done anything to have the parks properly lit in the area.
In Dwarka, parks more than 2 acres are under DDA and the rest are under South Delhi Municipal Corporation. According to officials, there are more than 500 parks in the area. Most of these parks either have bulbs missing or their electrical wires are damaged. “Perpetrators have taken advantage of the darkness in the parks and many incidents of theft and snatching have happened in the past. RWAs complained many times to the police and the civic bodies like DDA and MCD, but nothing effective has happened. “Many of these parks are around residential pockets and are used by the people living there. In the dark, anyone can attempt to breach the security of the societies around them,” said Joint Secretary of Harsukh Apartments, Sector 7, Ravi Jaitely.
Several of these parks which see substantial footfall during early mornings and evenings have been poorly lit for years. President of Vivekanand Apartments, Sector 4, Anwar Alam said, “The park near our society used to be properly lit until three or four years ago, but now there is no lighting at all. All the electrical infrastructure has been stolen. Bad elements take shelter in that park and pose a security threat. We have illuminated the back lane with our own lighting. However, Municipal Corporation and other civic agencies should do something effective to change the situation soon.”
Residents said that both the DDA and the MCD are responsible for the sad state that the parks are in. In the past, across Delhi, many incidents have happened due to poor lighting in parks. The attack on a journalist at a park in Ashok Vihar last year had raised several questions in front of the civic agencies and the police. Dwarka, which has hundreds of parks under DDA and MCD, seems even more vulnerable for the lack of proper lighting.
On the subject, DDA and MCD officials said that proper monitoring and maintenance of the lighting is done in the parks. They also added that the parks which have no lights will be getting proper lighting in coming months. “Another financial year has come to an end but none of the promises made by the public representatives before elections have been kept. On the other hand, DDA is passing the buck from one department to the other. I cannot understand why this is not being taken seriously,” said Smita Sharma, a resident of Sector 3.
