Delhi: Delhi will soon complete its first sports complex under a city flyover as the government tries to find innovative ways to free open spaces from encroachment.
The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) is setting up this free complex below the Lajpat Nagar flyover that stretches for nearly three kilometres. The PWD has planned similar play areas in underpasses in Kirti Nagar and Naraina village.
PWD Executive Engineer Vinay Sheel Saxena said these projects intend to save land “eaten away” by slum dwellers. With construction underway, inhabitants of the area have been asked to leave.
Mother of five Poonam, who has taken shelter under this flyover for nearly a week, has been told by security personnel that “the city has to be kept clean of poor people”. “They have to tell that to the government,” she said.
Soon after India took over the G20 presidency for 2023, the capital has been witness to multiple beautification projects — from imported tulips to demolition drives and street scraping projects, as reported earlier by ThePrint. And more recently, Section 144 was imposed over Northeast Delhi, fearing a “breach of peace”, ahead of the eight G20 meetings slated for September 2023.
Badminton, table tennis, squash…
Construction has begun under the flyover which has two stretches of open space punctuated by a road for vehicles to cross to the other side.
The exteriors of the complex, one for each block of open space, have been constructed and painted in multicolor stripes, matching the rainbow themed flyover above it. The structures have been built at a slight elevation with low, wire-mesh barricades surrounding them.
A smooth, sparkling clean pathway encircles the upcoming clubs, which are also lined with smart street lamps. A small pathway leading up to the complex has also been built.
The complex is set to have a badminton, table tennis and squash court, as well as a multipurpose hall for an open gym, yoga and meditation and a sitting area, The Indian Express reported.
According to Saxena, this complex will be free and open to all. When asked about how they intended to use the limited space under the flyover, he said the project would be as cost effective as possible.
According to the executive engineer, the PWD will provide limited parking for those who would use the complex.
The PWD has also installed attractive street lamps on either side of the road, near the Vinobapuri Metro Station entry gates, adjacent to this construction site. The footpaths outside the entry gates have also been renovated to give it a clean look, as part of this street-scaping project.
Saxena, however, said the project was not part of the upcoming G20 meet, as it had been planned much earlier than the G20 beautification projects.
But what of the poor?
The insides of the two club houses were stocked with raw materials but had no construction workers in sight when ThePrint visited the area. A few steps away from the barricaded zone, there were homeless families resting on the newly-paved ground. Several auto drivers were also catching a snooze in the shade provided by the flyover.
A Dalit from Sangrur, Punjab, Poonam has come to Delhi to get medical treatment for her youngest daughter. She said, “These government officials travel in their cars and then make statements like – ‘Look at those poor people, get them away from here’.”
Parents to two children, Rahul and Ganga are Dalits from Rajasthan, and have lived under the flyover for nearly four years. They sell balloons on the street to make money. Rahul said the family slept by the metro station for a few days each time they were chased away from under the flyover.
Rahul added they have been restricted from cooking food in the area as well. He is tired of being chased away and wants the government to provide him a home for his family of four.
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