New Delhi: As Delhi gears up for Lok Sabha elections on 12 May, people living in the national capital’s camp areas still wait for proper houses and benefits promised by the government. The narrow alleys in the camp areas of RK Puram and Kirti Nagar are cluttered with families lining up to wait for water supply.
In a camp opposite the Kalibari Temple in RK Puram Sector-7, more than 1,000 families use one washroom that has been constructed recently. Speaking about the problems faced by people in these camps, New Delhi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Meenakshi Lekhi told The Sunday Guardian that she intends to develop these camps and is trying to work on it. “My area is plagued with many issues, mostly related to wrong urban planning and delivery mechanisms, so whatever is in my capacity, I will try to resolve, as I have tried to resolve it even in the past.” Lekhi added that scarcity of water and lack of proper sewerage are the main problems that people in these camps have to endure. “Water is one main issue, which is under the Delhi government’s plank, but on my part, I still got Rs 900 crore for Delhi government, for the pipe water supply and sewage system. The task of spending the funds and expenditure does not lie with me, it lies with the state government and that mechanism is definitely faulty.” The issue of water availability is a major contention with the people of this area, as they have to travel for over five hours to get water. Speaking to this newspaper, Sonia, who runs a small shop near Malai Mandir, said that they are “not getting free water promised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).” “It takes us 4-5 hours to bring water. It is mostly women who do this job and their health was affected due to this” she said as a dozen empty buckets lay outside the narrow street. Radha, 64, said she hasn’t received her pension, though she has submitted all the paperwork. “I have to also work as a maid to earn my livelihood. My husband died when I was 19 and I came here. Even with children I had to manage, now when I am supposed to get my pension, I don’t get any,” she added. AAP’s Brijesh Goyal said he will be catering to the issues and will raise them in Parliament as well. “We will be focusing on government employees’ pension, as many are still struggling with it. Employment for youth is another issue that we will be working on. The youth did not get any jobs which were promised to them. Let’s see how we can create more jobs,” he told the correspondent. However, Dimple Peter, the pradhan at Kalibari camp, debunked all such promises as poll rhetoric and said that it is normal for parties to come up with schemes and solutions just before the elections. Peter told this reporter, “Since the AAP government has taken over, they haven’t even visited the camp. Our electricity bills are high. How can poor people like us pay such shocking electricity bills?” she asked. “Once when we went to AAP’s office for some help, they told us on our face that as we are Congress supporters, they won’t do anything for us,” she added. Though Peter applauded AAP for making the conditions of schools better, she said they have ignored other requests for development of the camp.
“The moment we say we will be supporting this party, they stop taking us seriously; hence, we have stopped telling anyone who we will be voting for,” Radha said. People said that Congress’ Ajay Maken held a rally where families from camps were called. Maken wanted an alliance with AAP and even refused to contest elections if that didn’t happen, according to reports.