Jia Sarai: Lalita Park waiting to happen

“What happened at Laxmi Nagar can happen anywhere in Delhi. Builders and property dealers do their job,bring down multi-storeyed houses and make more high-rises. Over 2,000 students live here,and all coaching centres are located close by,” says Santosh Kumar,who runs a tea stall in one of the bylanes.

Upon entering the locality,it’s hard to believe there is anything inside. But continue walking and you will discover that the narrow lanes,just enough for two persons to walk through at a time,lead to more such lanes.

The coaching centres here have brought students preparing for the civil services and various examinations to the area in hordes. “There is no option but to live in these hovels. The houses are without windows and are so closely clustered together,that there is no possibility of hygiene. There are no roads,there is no security,” says Vikram Singh (24) from Bhopal,who is preparing for engineering exams at a nearby coaching centre.

Singh holds a grudge against people who lived in the area,achieved prominence,but never bothered to give look back. Several erstwhile residents have gone up the ladder to become bureaucrats and diplomats,but none of them came back to do anything for it,he says. “In places like these,people come and go. We all come from middle-class families,and we are all under the pressure of expectations.”

In spite of this,Jia Sarai is a hit as it provides cheap accommodation and is close to prominent educational institutions such as JNU and IIT-Delhi. Other similar localities are Ber Sarai,Lado Sarai,Kalu Sarai,Katwaria Sarai,Nangli Sakrawati,Sultanpur and Mohammadpur.

Natasha Sundershan,a civil engineer by education, wishes to change the way things are. “It doesn’t feel like I am living in the national capital. How do such places come into being; how are such plans passed?” she says.

While rampant corruption in the administration is hampering development of such areas,initiative has to be taken,she believes. “High-rises must be constructed to accommodate people,so they get to witness the wind,sun and light. These things are a must to develop any city.”

When asked for his comment,Municipal Corporation of Delhi spokesperson Deep Mathur said: “No formal survey has been done in Lal Dora area.”