New Delhi: Places of religious importance
form part of the itinerary of tourists visiting the capital
but barring a few these are hardly ready to welcome visitors
from across the world who will throng the city during the
Commonwealth Games 2010.
The war of words between the government authorities
and managements of religious places sees no end, with the
latter expressing their concerns and the former claiming to
have solved these.
Shahi Imam, Jamia Masjid, Ahmed Bukhari says he has
written to the MCD, DDA, and government authorities many
times. "There is a development plan going on in Jamia Masjid
but what the authorities should remember is that it in
addition to being a historical place, it is a place of worship
as well. Special care has to be taken about it," he says.
Deep Mathur, spokesperson Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD), says, "We will take a considered view on this. We
want managements of the religious places to coordinate with
us. Before the CWG, we are going to develop the area under us
properly. We have an ambitious plan and would be implementing
it soon."
The spokesperson denies tardy pace of work, saying
that the speed is normal and the work would be complete till
the CWG.
The Hanuman Mandir on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, one of
the most crowded in the heart of the city, is a part of a
major project under the New Delhi Municipal Committee,
Council (NDMC).
"I have been coming to this mandir for a long time now
and haven`t seen any change as such. It is a holy place and
needs to be clean. There is dirt all around," says
Jayalakshmy, a devotee visiting Hanuman Mandir.
A spokesperson of NDMC, Anand Tiwari says, "We are
working on a major project which includes improving the
Hanuman mandir on Baba Kharak Singh Marg and as a part of the
state scaping, Bangla Sahib too would see changes."
Jaswant Singh Saluja, Chairman of one of the most
prominent Gurudwaras in the city, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib,
says, "Nobody does anything. Action is taken only if we keep
on reminding. I have been here from the last 15 years and have
seen no one approach us. We ourselves try to keep the vicinity
clean and have been successful."
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI),
spokesperson, Babu Joseph says, "We will settle adequate
arrangements. If the number of visitors increases, we will
increase security and would welcome more and more volunteers.
As such no civic body has approached us. We too haven`t
chalked out any plan as such."
While some religious places seem to have problems with
the way the civic authorities work, a few see no reason of
concern and claim to be fully geared for the CWG.
"We are already geared if 8,000 to 10,000 people visit
in a day. Even if the number increases, we will employ more
people and keep the area clean. We have a quite well
maintained convenience area. Cleanliness is no major issue for
us now. It has become so natural," says Shatrughun Jiwnani,
spokesperson Lotus temple.
The Akshardham temple sees no need for a special drive
or preparation for the CWG and cleanliness is something that
the temple does as a day to day effort, they say.
"There is no additional effort as of now by CWG
authority or us. We are not making any extra effort because
we`ll not be able to cope with it. We are very clean and are
working on it everyday," says Janak Dave, PRO Akshardham.
In old Delhi narrow, crowded, dirty lanes, shops and
`raidas` line up on your sides; beggars sticking to you for a
penny, shopkeepers and vendors screaming at you in an attempt
to invite you, is what dominates the view of Jamia Masjid.
"When more and more foreigners would come to visit the
masjid due to the CWG, what impression would they get? The
encroached roads are a major concern. The civic authorities
blame me saying I don’t allow the cleanliness drive. What I am
against is `safaya` not `safai`," a Masjid official says.
The authorities say that the entire Delhi would be
changed as per the plan. There is a list of `things to do`
chalked out by the government and the only thing needed now is
`implementation.`
The caretaker of the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin, S A
Nizamai, shows no hope in the civic authorities and says,
"None of the civic bodies does anything and wouldn’t do
anything. You come to the shrine and are welcomed by narrow
lanes with illegally working shops on both the sides,
encroachment, dirty pools of water flowing through the
‘naalas’. What would the foreigners see? This?"
On September 24, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit
instructed MCD, NDMC to improve the coordination with each
other. Also asking MCD, NDMC to refurbish up-grade and
strengthen roads with proper street lighting and street
scaping.
Bureau Report
