New Delhi:
Acute scarcity of water in Mehrauli constituency -- be it upscale colonies or urban villages -- may change the electoral tide this time against Congress MLA and Speaker of Delhi Assembly Yoganand Shastri.
Residents of Mehrauli said supply of water in the area is very erratic and often they have to rely on water tankers operated by private entities which charge "hefty" amount.
Though Shastri claimed series of measures have been taken to improve supply of water in the past five years, the residents complained that the situation has worsened in the last couple of years.
"There is no particular time for water supply. We get water after a gap of 3-5 days. Often we have to call private water tankers," said Vipin Singh, a resident of ward No 1.
"More than 50 per cent of the water connections are unauthorised here. We are waiting for the 'Sonia Vihar' water treatment plant to supply water for so many years," said A K Verma, Secretary of Mehrauli Resident Welfare association.
Shastri said an amount of Rs 210 crore has been sanctioned to build four underground reservoirs which will be completed by August next year.
"These reservoirs will be sufficient to supply potable water to the population of Mehrauli."
He also said five years back, DJB used to supply water to residents at a gap of 8-10 days which now has been brought down to 2-3 days.
BJP has fielded Pravesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, whereas the BSP has given ticket to Surender Panwar.
Aam Aadmi Party's Narender Sejwal, who has resorted to door-to-door campaign, claimed a "wave of change" is blowing across the city and exuded confidence of his victory.
A total of eight candidates are in the fray.
The total number of voters in the constituency is 1.44 lakh out of which 80,791 are men and 63,472 women.
In 2008 polls, Shastri had polled 21,740 votes against 20,632 votes of BJP's Sher Singh Dagar. Shastri had first won from Malviya Nagar constituency in 2003.
BJP candidate Verma, while accusing the Congress of doing nothing for the area, said, if voted to power, he will ensure an effective water distribution system besides addressing other pressing issues.
"Shastri has not been successful in addressing the problems of the area. I am confident they will reject him and vote for BJP," Verma said.
Residents said "dysfunctional" sewerage network and unauthorised constructions are other major issues.
"There is no proper drainage system which poses a health hazard in the area," said Mukul Gupta, a resident.
Shastri said Rs 90 crore has been sanctioned for a new sewerage system. "The current system is a 30 year old, which needs to be replaced," said Shastri.
While upscale colonies such as Vasant Kunj and Saket have better infrastructure, areas like Lado Sarai, Masoodpur, Kishangarh and Rajokri lack proper amenities.
Two elevated road projects have also been cleared. One starts from the general bus stand to the Mehrauli-Badarpur road, while the other is being built from the DESU Road to Vasant Kunj.
A number of traders' association said they would continue to support Congress as it has announced a number of road infrastructure projects and initiated steps to build water reservoirs.
People in various slum clusters of the area, considered traditional vote banks of the Congress, said the ruling party did not keep the promise of regularising the unauthorised settlements.
The government has undertaken project for building 4,200 flats for slum dwellers in Kishangarh.
The constituency could be among those likely to witness a close contest in the December 4 vote.