City’s choked
TILAK NAGAR Civic infra has failed to keep pace with the growing pressure of population and traffic in this Sikh-dominated area
NEW DELHI: Tilak Nagar is the soul of ‘Punjabi Dilli’ and the Tilak Nagar Central Market beats as its heart.
The area was established to accommodate ‘Pishori’ and ‘Pindi’ Sikhs (Sikhs from Peshawar and Rawalpindi) who had come to India after Partition.
There are over 1,300 shops in the Tilak Nagar market. There aren’t many brand stores but a lot of local stuff, tailors, shoe shops, a huge cycle store and book stores.
Shops selling artificial wedding jewellery can also be found occupying prominent space in the heart of the main square. Several shops selling electronics goods and food joints are also there. For connoisseurs of punjabi food, there are several joints including Bhappe di Hatti, famous for its chhole bhature. Several others serve the best Delhi snacks such as samosa, jalebi and gol-gappe.
Of the daily over 30,000-50,000 footfall that the market attracts, a majority are women. Shops selling cosmetics and hosiery items get women shoppers from all corners because of competitive prices.
Over the years, the population has gone up and good connectivity with other parts of Delhi, including a Metro station, has also brought the problem of congestion with it. The civic infrastructure in the market and the residential blocks has also failed to match the growing pressure.
As the day progresses, the roads and narrow lanes become increasingly congested with all sorts of vehicles. As soon as one comes out of the Metro stations, cycle and e-rickshaws could be seen blocking the main road, creating a bottleneck leading to traffic jams.
These rickshaws then compete for space on the roads further narrowed down by haphazadly parked vehicles.
“Lack of parking has been the biggest problem for the market. The municipal parking sites are not enough to the growing visitor inflow and the acute deficit has given rise to traffic jams and illegal parking,” said Tony Khatri, president of the New Tilak Nagar market association.
Shopkeepers also point out the lack of traffic management in the area. “Owing to the lack of parking spaces and close proximity to the Metro station, the roads are jammed by e-rickshaws. They block the entire road leaving little space for traffic causing jams at almost all hours of the day,” said Satya Rishi Pal, president of the Tilak Nagar Electronics market.
Market bodies say they have been doing their bit to maintain cleanliness in the markets by hiring sweepers but sought Problems being faced by popular student hangout, Kamla Nagar market more help from the municipal corporation to improve the state of affairs.
“Little has changed in the past 53 years since the market came into existence. In the absence of any intervention by the civic body the footpaths have been taken over by hawkers, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the roads. The internal roads are in dire need of repair,” said Pal.
Senior leaders of the municipal corporation and local area representatives rejected suggestions that they were not doing enough. Ritu Vohra, councillor Tilak Nagar, said the civic body has been working closely with market associations to ensure proper sanitation and public amenities. “We have been focused on maintaining proper sanitation in the area. Recently, we had handed over public washrooms to the market associations to make sure they are maintained regularly. Security and safety of the people and those visiting the area is our biggest concern and we review measures with Delhi Police from time to time,” said Vohra.
Visitors to the market, however, had a different story to tell. “There is just one police post. This despite the fact that the market is very dense with shops running deep into the lanes and bylanes. Posting a police personnel in every nook and corner may not be possible, but at least markets with such heavy footfall must have proper surveillance by CCTV cameras,” said Sonia Chaturvedi, a regular shopper at the market. “E-rickshaws serve as a major source of lastmile connectivity for both the locals and shoppers. But now, they have also become the biggest headache as they don’t follow traffic rules and cause traffic jams. —Bharat, regular shopper
“We have been coming here for several years now but little has changed. Problems remain the same. We have to first struggle to find a parking space and then find our way through the hawkers to reach the market place.
—Dalip Singh, frequent visitor
“Security is a major concern. There is just one police post and seldom would you see a cop on patrol here. Also, there are only a handful of CCTVs. For a market with such a huge footfall, there should be more security. —Ikmeet Singh, regular shopper