Dwarka locals oppose drain at cost of 600 trees
Leaders say that the protest will be peaceful and will last from noon till 4pm
NEW DELHI: Residents of Dwarka’s Sector 8 are opposing the construction of a stormwater drain between IGI Airport to Trunk Drain 2 (near Bharat Vandana Park, Dwarka), saying close to 600 trees will have to be felled or transplanted for the ₹70crore project, which is being executed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
The residents have written to the land-owning agency to rework plans to minimise damage to the green cover. But DDA officials said there is no possible alternative route, as the road under which part of the drain will be constructed is narrow.
With work on the expansion of Indira Gandhi International Airport, including a new runway, going on, DDA officials said the drain is needed to ensure there is no waterlogging at the airport.
The three-km-long drain will be constructed from the airport up to Bharat Vandana Park and further to Trunk Drain 2. A sizeable portion of the drain, which will be completely underground, will pass through a waterbody and a park in Dwarka’s Sector 8 near Bagdola village.
DDA has sought approval from the Delhi government’s forest department to transplant and cut close to 600 trees. “We applied for tree felling permission in October last year. But we are yet to get the permission. The plan for the drain was prepared after careful study of all feasible options,” said a DDA official in-charge of the project.
Residents of Sector 8 said the plan will destroy the green cover.
Amit Kumar, a resident of Sector 8, said, “This is the only park available for Sector 8 residents, Bagdola village and Raj Nagar park-ii. DDA has already done the markings on the ground and close to 600 trees, including hundreds of trees inside the park, will be damaged in the process. We have made several requests and also submitted an alternative plan to the DDA to save the trees.”
DDA officials said the alternative plan suggested by the residents is not feasible as the road width is just 13 metres whereas the proposed drain is more than 20 metres wide . “They have discussed their proposal with us. The plan for the stormwater drain was prepared by experts after careful study of the area. As of now, there is no change in the plan. We have applied for permission from various departments,” said the official.
The project has been in the making since 2016. According to first DDA official, “For airport’s expansion plan, DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited) approached DDA to construct the stormwater drain. But after several rounds of deliberations with DIAL, it has been decided that a 20-22 metre wide drain will be constructed. The plan was finalised in 2018 and the work was awarded last year.”
DIAL didn’t comment on the matter.
Kumar, who is leading the campaign to protect the trees, said, “All the residents are against it. We have submitted an alternative plan to DDA. If they go ahead with the original plan, then we will explore other options.”
Satish Bhardwaj, another resident of sector 8, said, “DDA should look for an alternative plan and save these trees.”
Environmental activist Diwan Singh said, “It looks unnecessary to cut so many trees to construct the drain. The existing drain is enough to carry the excess water. If need be, recharge pits can be constructed along the proposed runway at the airport. There is plenty of land available. DDA needs to find a way to minimise the damage to the environment.”
GHAZIABAD: Leaders of the antifarm law protest on Wednesday said they will go ahead with the plan to disrupt trains in the country on Thursday.
People will not allow trains to ply, they said. But, they added, protesters at the prominent protest sites around Delhi -- UP Gate at the border with Ghaziabad is one of them -- will not leave their positions. These people will continue their protests on the roads, they added.
This is the protesters’ third major action this year after the tractor rally to Delhi on Republic Day and chakka jam (road traffic protest) on February 6. They are demanding the repeal of the three central farm laws and the codification of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops into law.
“This is another call to take our movement forward which will not stop. It is now a fight for our existence. Even if farmers have to suffer loss of a crop, they will do it and will not let the agitation die. Our agitation is not going to break even as people say that there are fewer people at our gatherings. Our farmers have gone to attend to their fields and also have to attend to weddings in their families. They will come back,” said Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) who is spearheading the protest at UP Gate.
He said people in their respective areas will stop trains.
“They (people) will stop trains that ply in their areas. This will be a peaceful protest and they will offer water, milk, fruits, lassi and other items to children and other passengers who will be affected. They will also tell them about the farmers’ issues. This will take place across the country,” Tikait said.
The farmer leaders seemed reluctant to detail on how exactly they want people to stop trains in the rail roko protest, more so after the incidents of large-scale violence during their tractor rally in Delhi.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) in a statement issued from Singhu border said, “SKM appeals to everyone for a peaceful protest in the nationwide rail roko program on February 18. This program will be organised from 12pm to 4pm in which support is expected from all over the country.”
UP Gate farmers’ committee member Jagtar Singh Bajwa said that no protester from UP Gate will go to attend the rail roko call.
“They will stay at UP Gate and will continue the protest here. People are expected to stop trains and strictly told to carry out the call in a peaceful manner,” he said.
The Ghaziabad district administration said that they have made arrangements.
“We have deployed police and other security personnel in respective areas, and they will be accompanied by magistrates of respective tehsils. We will ensure that there is no untoward incident and that passengers do not suffer,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate, Ghaziabad.
The farmers have been camping at the UP Gate since November 28, 2020 to press for their demands and are occupying the Ghaziabad-delhi carriageway of the Delhi Meerut Expressway since December 3, 2020.
The other carriageway was heavily barricaded by the Delhi police after incidents of violence which took place on Republic Day in Delhi during the tractor rally call given by farmers’ leaders.
NHAI concern
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said their work had been disrupted since the start of the protest.
About 1.3-km stretch of the Delhi Meerut Expressway was occupied affecting traffic on stretches between UP Gate and Vijay Nagar.
“We have received several complaints from the public about the closure of the expressway. We had written to the district magistrate requesting them to get the expressway vacated,” said Mudit Garg, project director of NHAI.
But district magistrate Pandey said that he had not received any such request. “The district administration on January 28 had served a notice to farmer leaders at UP Gate to vacate the site, but nothing materialised so far.
Meanwhile, Tikait lashed out at the NHAI.
“NHAI officials keep telling us to vacate the expressway. When the government couldn’t get it vacated, how can they? There is no one from the NHAI who has come to us so far to ask us to vacate. We ask that what action was taken when Haryana roads were dug up to stop the farmers (referring to police action to stop the rally on Republic Day). The officials must first initiate action there,” Tikait added.
People will stop trains that ply in their area. They will offer water, milk, fruit and lassi to the passengers affected by this and tell them about our issues.
RAKESH TIKAIT,
BKU leader
Living arrangement of a group of labourers The doors are locked, their wood rotting. The window jaalis are cobwebbed. The } balconies are blocked with bricks. The weather-beaten building must be empty inside.
Yet, it shelters very many people. Outside. Those people are nowhere to be seen this late afternoon but their residences are as visible as daylight. Their possessions—all the essential stuff that makes up a house—are laid out in a great display across the length of this building, on the footpath, here in central Delhi’s Ansari Road. One of the doors is clipped with a string on which are hanging shorts, pants, a pithu bag, and a hand bag, which has a white banian (vest) coming out of it. A sheet of plywood is plonked against the door. It is the size of a single bed, and perhaps is used by its owner to spread out on the ground at night as a bed.
The building faces a motor workshop. A middle-aged mechanic, his clothes greased in black, wearily says, “Majdoor (labourers) live by this pavement... this is their home.” Currently, the labourers are away at work and are likely to return only by sunset, he says, slipping under the car he is repairing.
Looking at these open-air living spaces feels like entering a gated apartment complex without permission. The limited variety of domestic things arranged across the building’s exterior repeats itself in quick successions—individual clotheslines with bags and kitchen utensils. It is a bit similar to seeing a Gurugram residential high-rise, with its hundreds of flats duplicating each other’s lifestyle, though here the fellow citizens don’t have the luxury of roofs and rooms.
The kitchen in each living quarter comprises spice boxes and cooking oil bottles arranged about tiny gas cylinders with single-burner stoves. The metal dinner plates lie on the ground, as if the evening’s table had already been laid out. (rolling-pin and board) to make rotis are shoved into rusting bins.
A few places have overstuffed suitcases. A few doors have helmets hanging from them.
The board at one end of the building terms the area an “authorised parking” with a disclaimer at the bottom, saying—“no responsibility of loosing parts like cash, bag, mobile phone etc.”