New Delhi: Finally the efforts of The DQ Week along with Manisha Sood, Country Manager, SanDisk Corporation, who jointly launched the 'Nehru Place Ko Chamkao' campaign are beginning to bear fruit. This happened when a complaint was registered at LG office grievance cell regarding the state of things at the northern India's IT hub and officials promptly assured to take quick action to correct things.

“Within 10 days, action would be taken in a step-by-step manner to eradicate the problems prevailing in Nehru Place,” assured MN Sharma, Assistant to Officer on Special Duty, Lieutenant Governor Office. The DQ Week along with MN Khan, Estate Manager of Vishal Bhawan, and Soman, Estate Manager of Siddhartha building, Deepak building and Kailash Apartment of Nehru Place had approached LG office to register a complaint about inconvenient and unsafe situation that has plagued the market.

Having heard out the campaigners, the LG officials proffered step-by-step help to tackle these issues. To begin with we can expect to see some action to address the specific problems of stray animals, arrangement of proper street lights, choked sewage, cleanliness and roadside hawkers. Khan and Soman also informed Sharma that in spite of having presented their case regarding the deteriorating state of affairs at Nehru Place to MCD and DDA, no attention had been given to the area.

“Earlier we had filed complaints through letters but no action was taken. This is the first time that we are personally visiting LG office. We hope that some action will be taken in a phase-wise manner just as the officials have assured, and we will put our efforts to contribute at an individual level,” said Khan.

Sharma shared that this was the first time that anybody had brought these issues to their notice, “This is the first time that somebody is visiting us regarding the problems faced by Nehru Place. The authority will assign the tasks to several departments and in the next 10 days, some action would be visible. Encroachment and public cleanliness are important issues and they will be addressed in the coming days.” Nehru Place falls under the governance of MCD which is responsible for supervising amenities in the market. The grievance cell of LG office stated that they would ensure that the concerned department takes stringent action to provide basic facilities to the visitors and business owners of the market.

According to a source in MCD, the monthly collection from parking at Nehru Place is around Rs 40 lakh, a small portion of which could have been utilized for providing basic facilities in the area such as uninterrupted street lighting. Not only is there complete indifference on part of MCD officials to the problems in Nehru Place, the political structure of the area also adds to its neglect. Being a business hub, no residential area falls under the constituency of Nehru Place. This results in a no-voter zone, thus earning it the local MLA's indifference.

The estate managers makes it planning to approach Subhash Chopra, MLA, Nehru Place to discuss the issues existing in the IT hub.

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