7 days ago
Security, civic upgrades: This Delhi neighbourhood gets a boost living next door to CM
Outside a mall in Northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh, past a petrol pump, a golden-black gate swings open into AP Block, where a signboard announces: 'Shrimati Rekha Gupta, Mukhyamantri, Niwas AP-92.'
A 100 days since the BJP came to power in the state, dislodging the AAP, Gupta — the Capital's fourth woman CM — is yet to move into her official residence. While the bungalow at 6, Flagstaff Road, in Civil Lines — the residence of former CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and the focus of the BJP's 'Sheesh Mahal' campaign — was offered to her by the Delhi government's Public Works Department (PWD), she declined.
The PWD is currently evaluating suitable bungalows from its vacant pool. Sources in the Delhi government said the Chief Minister is looking for an official residence in Lutyens' Delhi. 'She wants the house at a central location which is accessible,' they said.
Until then, AP-92, a four-storey building draped in saffron flags, is her seat of power — and the Shalimar Bagh neighbourhood an unlikely centre of governance.
Outside the building are a few barricades and several armed personnel. Three times a week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday — the lane outside transforms as the CM holds her jan sunwai (public hearing).
While Gupta has to travel 24 km to reach the Delhi Secretariat, and nearly 15 km to both the North and South Blocks, residents of Shalimar Bagh are happy she is living among them. For them, it has meant attention, security, and swift civic upgrades.
'Garbage? Not a single wrapper on the road,' says Ahmad Sehrawat, who has been working as a guard at the government primary school next to Gupta's house for the past eight years.
'Earlier, a luxury car worth Rs 70 lakh was stolen from right outside her house. Now, CRPF and Delhi Police personnel are stationed at all times and are taking shelter in our school,' he adds.
Infrastructure, too, has seen a facelift. Over the past month, Gupta has inaugurated footpaths at two parks, laid new roads in NP, PD, QD, and NU Blocks in the colony, and raised the boundary walls of Prem Bari Bridge. Water pumps have been deployed in anticipation of the monsoon.
One of the most ambitious undertakings is a new Ring Road planned between Madhuban Chowk and Mukarba Chowk — a Rs 13-crore project aimed at easing traffic congestion in Northwest Delhi. Gupta's team has also installed directional signs across Pitampura's PWD roads for smoother vehicle movement.
Her neighbours talk of the 'Rekha ji' who would walk to the temple in her salwar kameez. Meena, who lives a few houses down, says, 'She would always greet us with a smile. Now she is the CM and cannot step out without security personnel. Still, she waves if we catch her eye.'
'She hasn't changed,' says Smita Bansal, who claims to have known her from the time she was a councillor. 'Just the crowd outside her house has changed. With the Chief Minister living here, I'm sure the property rates of this block would have increased.'
'We have never seen such rapid work in our area,' says Arti Chawla, a resident of Gupta's block. 'The road outside our temple was full of potholes. Now it's smooth, and the temple itself is being renovated.'
Not everyone is happy, though. Vinod Mandal, who runs a kiosk where he sells paan, chips and beverages, is upset that street vendors have been displaced. His kiosk survived, but he says he lives in fear.
'Just days after she was named CM, all vendors were removed… The government has no plan to rehabilitate them,' says Mandal, who claims to be a 'lifelong' BJP worker.
A group of shopkeepers from Haiderpur complain about harassment by the local police. Gupta responds sharply, 'Sadak pe kabza karoge toh kaise baat banegi? (How can things work out if you are going to take over the road?')
The most agitated group, however, is that of civil defence volunteers, many wearing their uniforms, who remind Gupta of the BJP's pre-election promise to reinstate them.
'We were told the matter would be resolved in 60 days. It has been 100 days,' a volunteer says. Gupta responds: 'Do saal ki samasya ka samadhan do din mein ho sakta hai kya? (How can a matter of two years be resolved in two days?)'
The CM leaves soon after, and her security personnel move to disperse the crowd.
