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This is an archive article published on January 11, 2023

DDU Marg, where AAP and BJP office are, among Delhi’s dark stretches

Two barely illuminated routes. This is what The Indian Express found when it travelled on the 4.5 km Kalindi Kunj stretch, and the road between Minto Bridge and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Part 2 of a series that looks at Delhi’s dark spots

The dimly lit road stretch near Shaheen Bagh bus stand, with two-winged street lights. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)The dimly lit road stretch near Shaheen Bagh bus stand, with two-winged street lights. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
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DDU Marg, where AAP and BJP office are, among Delhi’s dark stretches
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With the closure of Ashram flyover, lakhs of commuters traveling between Noida and Southeast Delhi and the surrounding NCR regions such as Faridabad, Badarpur and Agra take the Kalindi Kunj stretch to avoid traffic jams. Commuting on the stretch, though, is not an easy task when more than half the streetlights don’t work.

As part of its series on Delhi’s dark stretches, The Indian Express travelled on two more prominent routes – the above-mentioned SDMC toll gate to Jasola Metro station via Shaheen Bagh, and from Minto Bridge to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg government quarters. What we found:

A crucial stretch

On the 4.5-km Kalindi Kunj stretch, roughly 90% of the street lights were either not working or hadn’t been switched on, with the low visibility exacerbated by a thick layer of fog.

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The Indian Express started from SDMC toll gate junction, near Kalindi Kunj Metro station. Here, the road divides into four parts – on the left, near the Metro station, is Eco Park Road going towards Faridabad sector 27, Badarpur and Mithapur. On the right, roads go towards Amrapali Road and Kalindi Kunj Bridge. All lights here, including high mast ones, were not working.

Starting from the junction near Kalindi Kunj Metro station, there were 21 two-winged street poles installed on GD Birla Marg till Shaheen Bagh foot overbridge (FOB). Of these, lights on only four poles were working, including one that was flickering. The newly constructed FOB had no lights. Between 11.10 pm and 11.25 pm, about six persons, including a woman, used the FOB, and all of them were seen using their mobile torch light to cross the stretch.

On the right side, clothing and footwear showrooms and the densely populated Shaheen Bagh, which saw 2019 anti-CAA protests, is situated. The area was largely shrouded in darkness. Two bus stops on either side of the road were not lit, and the only light appeared to be coming from a private hospital on the right.

From here, another FOB was situated around 850 metres away, near a mall. This, too, was unilluminated. The Vishwasji Sadak stretch remained dark till the Sarita Vihar underpass, 500 metre before Jasola Metro station near Apollo Hospital. There were 34 street lights on the central median, of which only three were lit.

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The Jasola-Apollo Metro stations are illuminated with bright, decorative lights. Most short and tall street light poles were working. From Jasola Metro station to New Friends Colony to Okhla FOB, the street lights were functional but dimly lit with sodium lights.

When contacted, a senior PWD official who looks after electrical maintenance of Southeast Delhi, said, “We have given the maintenance work of streetlights to the discoms, BSES, for five years… Usually, either we receive complaints from BSES or the public, following which we get the lights fixed. But we have not received any complaints regarding non-functional street lights on the Kalindi Kunj stretch. The stretch had lights; there must be some fault in the cable or the timer, we will get it fixed in a day or two.”

The official said theft is a menace. “We file at least 3-4 FIRs every month and police complaints of theft of electric pole cables, timer, electric box…FOBs at Shaheen Bagh and Living Style Mall were inaugurated a month ago…cable wires have been cut, iron items have been stolen, due to which lights have gone off on the FOB…”

“…Frequent patrolling should be increased…Our security guards ….are afraid to work in night shifts due to threats by anti-social elements…,” said the official, adding: “We will check the stretch and fix the lights soon.” The official later added that on the Kalindi Kunj to GD Birla Marg stretch, “improvement of street light and cable laying work is in progress”, while at “Vishwasji Sadak and Shaheen Bagh to Jasola (stretch), cable fault (has been) rectified and the street light is in working condition”.

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The stretch falls under Assembly constituency of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.

Home to party offices

An upscale 1-kilometre stretch between New Delhi and Central district, going from Minto Bridge till DDU Marg government quarters, had several dark spots. The road from Connaught Place side, before the bridge, had illuminated street lights, but 100 metres away from Minto Bridge, the stretch got dark, and at the signal, street lights were absent.

The stretch near Minto Bridge. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

From the Minto Railway Bridge traffic signal, the road to the right leads to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, where BJP office, Rouse Avenue district court, and AAP office are situated. The 1-km stretch on DDU Marg starting from Anna Kalaigner Arivalayam had 17 street poles on the central verge, which were not working.

The stretch also houses residences of senior bureaucrats and government officials. It had one bus stop but had no lights, and was dimly illuminated only by lights emitted from the government residential quarters.

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When contacted later with queries on the DDU Marg stretch, an official said: “We will check and repair the lights by tomorrow.” He added that the lights had been fixed near Minto Bridge.

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