Commercialisation bane of this colony

VIGYAN Vihar, founded in the 60s, is one of the posh colonies in East Delhi, yet small in terms of area. The area has 200 houses in all. The colony’s basic infrastructure developed in 1965. By the year 1975, construction of houses on most of the plots was completed, and the area transformed into a well-developed colony.
Today, however, the colony presented a totally different picture.Opines B.R. Bhandula, president, Vigyan Vihar RWA, “These days the colony is facing a number of problems. There are about 23 parks in the locality, but most of them are ill- maintained. Our repeated requests to the concerned departments produce no results.�
Says R.P. Bajaj, a resident, “The residents are suffering from various water-borne diseases, because the drinking water line somehow got connected with the sewer line.�
Bhandula adds, “Rampant commercialisation in most posh residential colonies of Delhi, and inability of the authorities to stop it, has forced many residents to search for a peaceful living elsewhere. Our RWA wants to make the colony a fully residential one, where there will be no room for commercial ventures.�
As one enters the colony, one would notice in this residential area, flourishing business enterprises, and some of them being run from the residential flats or kothis by a good number of residents themselves.
Atam Anand, one of the office bearers of the RWA, feels that commercialization has spoilt the entire beauty of the area.
He says, “There was a time not long ago when Vigyan Vihar was a peaceful colony with all its greenery. But now it is just like any other colony like Karol Bagh or Lajpat Nagar with houses surrounded by hoardings and enormous posters.�
“But in spite of all these, people prefer to stay in this colony because the area is centrally located and all major facilities are available here. We are pretty self-sufficient,� says Poonam, a resident.