Refugee camp gets its first pucca road

Set up by the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for migrants from Punjab, the AAP government chose this colony with 4,000 homes to inaugurate its first mohalla clinic.

Arvind Kejriwal, Mohall Clinic, AAP mohalla clinic, Aam Aadmi Party, Pucca Road, Refugee camp, Peeragarhi mohalla clinic, Peeragarhi refugee camp, Delhi news

The first pucca road at Peeragarhi relief camp, which was laid two days before CM Arvind Kejriwal visited the area on Sunday. (Source: Express photo by Ravi Kanojia)

On Sunday, when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the first of 1,000 mohalla clinics in the Punjabi Punarvas basti in northwest Delhi’s Peeragarhi relief camp, the colony also got its first pucca road since it was set up in 1987.

Residents said the half-kilometre stretch in D block, from the mohalla clinic to the tent where the inaugural function was held, was built in the last two days. However, the roads in C and E blocks are laden with muck and slush. Every few metres, the roads give way to giant potholes with stagnant water and mosquitoes. Every year, at least one child in each home falls prey to dengue, malaria and typhoid, they said.

Kejriwal promised new roads for the colony. “I noticed the slush and the condition of the roads when I came here. I asked Satyendra Jain, who is also the PWD minister, why this was so. He said according to the rules, this colony is neither a JJ cluster nor a routine area. I have asked him to bring the files. If a change in law is required we will do it,” Kejriwal told residents.

Set up by the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for migrants from Punjab, the AAP government chose this colony with 4,000 homes to inaugurate its first mohalla clinic.

For the residents, this is a welcome move as the nearest government dispensary is about a kilometre away in Paschim Vihar. To get there, they either have to pay Rs 50 to take an auto-rickshaw or brave a walk through heavy traffic on Rohtal road. Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital in Mangolpuri and Bhagwan Mahavir hospital are also about 7-8 and 5 km away respectively. Both have less than 500 beds and have no super-specialty departments. In case of road accidents and head injuries, residents have to go to Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital in Hari Nagar, which is 10-12 km away.

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Arvind Kejriwal