Dark stretches a blot on planned sub-city Dwarka
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Dark stretches a blot on planned sub-city Dwarka

The story is same at the back lanes of societies in far flung sectors like 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 etc.

Dark stretches a blot on planned sub-city Dwarka

Dwarka: The safety and security of one of the planned localities has been compromised with the dark stretches and dark spots. The sub-city of Dwarka has been suffering due to such spots and stretches. People feel unsafe on roads, parks and even around their residential pockets due to unavailability of proper lights, shadows created by trees and defunct electrical infrastructure. 

The story is same at the back lanes of the societies in far flung sectors like 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 etc. Also, there are long stretches inside the sectors 7, 6, 2 etc where there are either dim lights or no lights.

Non-functional lights causing dark stretch

There are many areas with non-functional lights. Either the fitting from the poles are missing or the bulbs are defunct. In those areas, dark stretches and spots can be seen despite infrastructure. A resident of Sector 7, Anurag Bahal said, “There are dark spots in bylanes of Sargodha Apartments, behind Sargodha Shri Ganesh Apartments. Near Meghdoot Apartments and Shiv Bhole Apartments, there are dark areas which attract all illegal activities.”
Bahal, who has been following up the subject for the sub-city with authorities, shared his observation, “I have seen the stretches at Sector 10 from Dwarka court through Vandana International School towards Sector 12 metro station are often dark. Also, the areas and roads near metro stations like 21, 8, 9, 10 etc are facing the same issue.”  

Similarly, Suman Malik, a resident of Sector 6, Youngster Apartments said, “Internal roads are not properly lit. The road which passes from the middle of the sector towards Sector 5 and 4 has dark spots and stretches. Authorities need to look into the matter.” There are some other places facing problems for a long time like the lane behind Durga Pooja Apartments, Sector 13, internal lanes in Sector 12, roads in Sector 3 and 4 etc.
No lighting provision in service lanes

When the sub-city was planned, lights were given to the central verge according to the planning. There was no provision of lights in the service lanes. The service lanes had to be illuminated through the lights from the electric poles on central verge of the main roads. But with the time, the plantations along the service lanes have grown up and now almost all the service lanes are in dark. Hooligans and anti-social elements use the service lanes for consumption of liquor and other wrong activities. Some incidents of snatching of purse, chain and watches have also happened when the office goers were returning after dark to their societies.

Some of the societies or the public representatives have made efforts and few LED bulbs have been provided in some sectors like 9, 6 etc for the security of the societies along the service lanes. President of the Federation of RWAs of Sector 9 and president of Ganpati Apartments, Advocate Dr KS Bhati said, “The service lanes in the sub-city are mostly unsafe. We somehow managed some poles in our service lanes but the authorities should think over the issue seriously and the service lanes should be properly lit.”

Shadow due to trees on roads

The dark spots and stretches are also due to the shadows created by the overgrown trees on the roads. One can see how the trees are causing dark spots and making particular spots or stretches unsafe for the commuters. Such spots can be easily seen on the Road No 202 and 205. Some incidents have happened due to such shadows on the roads, in which, women were physically assaulted and hurt. One such incident was happened few months back in Sector 4 near Modern Convent School.

Multiple agencies and lack of coordination among agencies

Residents say that the major factor for the dark spots and stretches are involvement of multiple agencies. They say that there is lack of coordination among the civic bodies. In Dwarka, there are three agencies involved to look after the electrical issues. They are DDA, MCD and BSES. Most of the time, maintenance gets affected because of confusion in jurisdiction for the particular pole or area.

A resident of Sector 17, RK Singh said, “Blame game between BSES and DDA is there. No one is ready to take the responsibility. In most parts of Dwarka, electrical infrastructure is not functioning due to ill maintenance. If maintenance is proper then half work is done. Flood light should be installed in all major crossing and near metro lines so that large areas can be covered. Also, DDA should take up all pruning activities at war front as most of the overgrown trees covered the street lights. We are not demanding extra ordinary things, but we request them for basic maintenance only. Since Dwarka is a planned city, taking up these maintenance issues should not be a problem for the agencies.”