Urban News

MCD officials said they had made the road under the Calcutta Bridge a four-lane one to smoothen traffic flow under the Hanuman Mandir flyover, which leads towards Old Delhi Station on one side and towards the Ring Road and Red Fort on the other. However, the implementation of the plan has hit a hurdle because a portion of the 17th century heritage City Wall of Shahjahanabad, a protected structure, is coming in way of the widening work.

Hence, while the road under the Calcutta Bridge has already been made a four-lane one, only two lanes of the same are now in use for a portion of the City Wall, that goes along the Ring Road, is coming in the way of the other two lanes.

MCD officials say the decongestion work is essential because the area faces heavy traffic inflow from Ring Road and North Delhi towards Daryaganj, Old Delhi Railway Station and the Walled City. “Because of the construction work on the Ring Road bypass, the road under the bridge has been made a one-way. No traffic is allowed in from the Ring Road side because of the ongoing work, hence making traffic flow here easier. However, once that work is complete the traffic chaos will be back. This makes the four-lane plan essential,” said an official.

It is understood that the Corporation had written to the Archaeological Survey of India seeking permission to raze the above portion of the City Wall. The ASI, however, denied them the same. “Sometime ago, we had received a letter from the MCD seeking permission to bring down that part of the wall. However, since it has a historical significance and is a protected structure, it cannot be pulled down. We have asked the MCD to approach the Director General, ASI,” said an ASI official.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to cement the decrepit road in the Mayapuri industrial area, where a radioactive substance was found in April. The subsequent radiation leak had claimed one life and injured five.

The AERB recently wrote a letter to Delhi Mayor P R Sawhney asking him to ensure that the MCD “concretises the above road at the earliest.”

When the AERB officials and doctors visited Mayapuri in May to “clean up” the area, it was found that the radiation had also affected the soil. To ensure further contamination, the MCD will have to remove one foot of soil. During the monsoon the substances can spread, the letter read.

During the clean-up operation, the AERB officials had removed the topsoil from the area, but had instructed the civic agencies to remove another layer of soil and concretise the road.

“Yet, neither the municipality nor the Delhi government has paid heed. Officials have promised to cement the road, but nothing is happening,” said Hemraj Gupta, president, Mayapuri Scrap Market Association. Gupta said contacted the MCD earlier last on the issue.

The Corporation, meanwhile, said it has already begun work on concretisation of roads in many areas of the west zone and will begin work at Mayapuri soon. The Mayor remained unavailable for comment.

The source of the radiation leak was a radioactive gamma cell containing Cobalt-60, auctioned as scrap by the Delhi University’s chemistry department in March this year.