Delhi polls 2020: AAP, Congress meet slum residents to hear demands

Many dwellers brought up the difficulty in obtaining clean water, to which Bharadwaj said, “Delhi used to have 53% piped water facilities, which AAP increased to 93%. We had to separate the sewage and water lines. AAP will make sure it will make this 100%.”

Six years ago, many residents of both slums were relocated after a survey found that the land they lived on belonged to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the South civic body. (Representational/Express photo/Ravi Kanojia)

Addressing the crowd of around 50 slum dwellers from Tughlakabad, Vivekanand, RK Puram, and Mahipalpur, Bharadwaj highlighted the work the AAP had done in mitigating air pollution. (Representational/Express photo/Ravi Kanojia)

AAP Spokesperson Ghanendra Bharadwaj and Congress member Rajesh Garg held a meeting with the JJ cluster residents at the Indian Social Institute in Lodi colony Wednesday as part of the My Right To Breathe citizens’ movement against air pollution. The event was organised by the Safai Sena.

Addressing the crowd of around 50 slum dwellers from Tughlakabad, Vivekanand, RK Puram, and Mahipalpur, Bharadwaj highlighted the work the AAP had done in mitigating air pollution.

He said, “We have taken many initiatives in the past five years to reduce air pollution. We have banned more than 6 lakh generator sets, given electricity 24×7, introduced machines to remove dust on PWD streets, sprinkled water, increased green area, EV policy, tried to increase last mile connectivity.”

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He said that tackling air pollution and cleaning the Yamuna river will be the main focus areas for the AAP government if it comes to power. Rajesh Garg from the Congress said that the Sheila Dikshit government had taken steps to tackle air pollution. “To mitigate traffic, she initiated the building of flyovers, and making new roads. All buses were converted to CNG buses,” she said.

Saira Banu (37), from Jahangirpuri, said, “I live right in front of a landfill, and it causes a lot of trouble breathing.” Others also highlighted the bad air which often caused breathlessness.Bharadwaj said that they would work on initiatives to make profit out of the landfills and reduce their sizes.

Many dwellers brought up the difficulty in obtaining clean water, to which Bharadwaj said, “Delhi used to have 53% piped water facilities, which AAP increased to 93%. We had to separate the sewage and water lines. AAP will make sure it will make this 100%.”