A footpath you can't walk on
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A footpath you can't walk on

Vendors and squatters lay claim to the footpath in front of the DDA SFS flats in Dwarka Sector 5.

A footpath you can't walk on

You can’t walk on the footpath in front of the DDA SFS flats. Your way will be blocked by a momo stall, a kachori kiosk, a cigarette shop and a bhelpuriwallah. Not to mention the odd scooter and a few bottles of mineral water.

That’s the situation in Sector 5, Dwarka. And it has worsened over the past six months, according to the society RWA.

Mahesh Gupta, general secretary of the RWA, says, “The number of vegetable vendors, street food sellers and cigarette shops has been increasing in the stretch from Rajapuri to Aashirvad Chowk. You can see how much they have encroached upon pedestrian space. We have brought it to the notice of the DDA, the Delhi Police and the municipal corporation a number of times. But they are not doing anything about it.”

To BK Shukla, president of the RWA, it is the chaos that is more troubling. “These vendors create such a ruckus and litter the area so badly that it’s impossible for anyone to walk on the footpath. It is the job of the MCD and the police to make the footpaths vendor-free. Why aren’t they doing anything about it?”

However, director of press information, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Mukesh Yadav, says they carry out regular encroachment drives. “We have recently checked Dwarka for encroachments. In case something has been missed, officials will take care of it as soon as possible,” he assured City Spidey.