A firefighter works to douse fire as smoke billows from burning garbage at the Ghazipur landfill
Credit: Reuters File Photo
New Delhi: Inadequate parking space, unauthorised colonies and Ghazipur landfill are among the key issues for residents of the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency which may play a role in deciding the fate of the candidates in the polls.
Crime in some of the areas is also a concern for the voters in the constituency.
BJP's Harsh Malhotra and AAP and I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidate Kuldeep Kumar are in a direct contest in the constituency, which has 21,20,584 voters.
Vimal Singh, a resident of Kondli, said that parking and water are key issues which the people of the area are facing.
"Parking is a main problem of the area. We do not have a proper parking space here. Water supply also gets affected in the area on a regular basis. Besides, our area does not have clean parks where kids can play.
"During monsoon, the roads get filled with water creating troubles for commuters. Heavy traffic near Kalyanpuri is also an issue where commuters get stuck during peak hours," Singh said.
Suraj Kumar, a resident of Ghazipur, said that they want their MP to work for giving them relief from the smell and pollution caused due to the landfill site.
"We want relief from this landfill. The foul smell continuously emanating from the site is irritating. The supplied water also stinks several times. The smell and pollution increase due to the nearby meat markets," Kumar stated.
The East Delhi constituency has big marketplaces like Lajpat Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Shahdara, and Krishna Nagar, as well as residential areas such as Vivek Vihar, Mayur Vihar, Mandawali, Surajmal Vihar, Preet Vihar, and Trilokpuri.
Federation of Lajpat Nagar Traders' Association general secretary Kuldeep Kumar said that the lack of basic facilities is a major concern for shoppers in the market.
"A number of women come from different parts of the city and also from neighbouring towns for shopping. The market does not have clean washrooms for them. The electricity wires are hanging.
"This area was earlier part of the New Delhi constituency. However, it has now become part of the East Delhi constituency. We demand that our marketplace should be shifted to the New Delhi constituency again," Kumar said.
The seat saw a three-way fight in 2019 polls when Gautam Gambhir was fielded by the BJP, Arvinder Singh Lovely by the Congress, and Atishi by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Gambhir won the seat by getting over 55 per cent votes.
In 2014, BJP's Maheish Girri became the MP from the seat, while AAP's Rajmohan Gandhi was the runners up and former Delhi CM Sheila Dixit's son Sandeep Dixit was at the third position.
While pollution is a problem for the Anand Vihar and Ghazipur areas, the residents of Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri, and Mandawali areas are more concerned about crime.
Mayur Vihar resident Rohini Kaul said, "The maintenance of parks in the area should be done in a regular manner. The drains are also not covered well here." The constituency also has some unauthorised colonies. Residents of such colonies said that everyone talks about getting their colonies regularised, but nobody works for the betterment of such settlements.
"We want basic amenities, including water and clean streets. The issues of slum dwellers always remain on top priorities for the politicians during the polls. However, nobody works for us after winning the elections," Mohammad Asad, a resident of an unauthorised colony, said.
In his priorities, I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidate Kuldeep Kumar has listed out the issues of law and order, freeing encroached land and working to remove the Ghazipur landfill site with more vigour.
"There is the North Campus and the South Campus of Delhi University but no East Campus. Getting an East Campus will be his prominent demand. Working to get better connectivity through Metro will be another priority," he had said earlier.
BJP candidate Harsh Malhotra recently told PTI that a mega hospital on the lines of AIIMS in the trans-Yamuna area and flats to slum dwellers will be among his priorities, if he wins the elections.
"We will try to build a central government's hospital on the lines of Safdarjung or AIIMS in east Delhi as private hospitals are very expensive and everyone cannot afford it. I think this is very important.
"My aim would be to provide flats to the people living in slums under the Prime Minister's "jahan jhuggi wahan makan" scheme. With this scheme, they would get better homes, roads, and drinking water for a better life," Malhotra, a former EDMC mayor, had said.
The constituency has 11,51,211 male, 9,69,269 female, and 104 third gender voters. There are 35,104 first-time, 12,917 elderly, and 10,165 people with disability voters in the constituency.
Polling for all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be held in the sixth phase on May 25.