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News18 visited various parts of the neighbourhood and noticed garbage dumped on the roads and empty plots, inviting stray animals and posing health hazards. Most locals though seemed satisfied with the MLA and didn’t blame him for the situation. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is…Read More
As per the data from the Election Commission of India, the seat has a total of 1.72 lakh voters – 83,397 women and 89,139 men. Image: Nivedita Singh/News18
Even a small drive through Rohini’s interiors is enough to open one’s eyes to the issues of illegal parking, encroachment, and sanitation in parts of the locality. While the main roads in most areas may look good, the interior streets have a different story to tell.
News18 visited various parts of the neighbourhood and noticed garbage dumped on the roads and empty plots, inviting stray animals and posing health hazards.
Voters voice concerns
Shantanu Arya from Rohini’s Taj Apartment on Badli Road said they are facing problems of garbage accumulation and an increase in stray animals. These animals sometimes attack young children, he said.
“There is a DDA land next to my place of residence. And it is turning into a dumping ground with no steps being taken to stop it. It is cleaned once in a while but ends up looking the same,” he said.
Even in the C-D Block of sector 15, with posh houses nearby, the problem persists. Empty plots are being used as dumping zones and attract cattle and dogs.
“They cleaned it a few days ago, around the time elections were announced. But now it is the same again. Animals gather around these dumping zones and are a risk for children,” said area resident Sangeeta Tomar.
The same issues are faced in sectors 18, 19, 13, and 9 too. However, in some parts, the situation has improved in the last few weeks, particularly as the city administration gets ready for assembly polls in February. But many residents said the problems will return soon.
While garbage on vacant plots and roadsides bothers a majority of the people in the city, most residents living in the housing societies of Rohini say that they are happy with the parks and the open-air gyms installed in these. However, some parks News18 visited were also used for drying clothes and as dumping zones. Yet a majority of the parks were well maintained and had locals enjoying the winter sun.
People living in the area were also satisfied with the electricity and water supply in the region.
The voters here, more or less, seemed satisfied with the MLA and didn’t blame him for the situation. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is the body responsible for dealing with garbage.
Illegal parking on roads, roadsides, and in market areas is another major issue in several sectors of the Rohini assembly constituency.
“People park irresponsibly, and there is no check from the authorities. Sometimes, I also feel there are not enough spaces for cars in the area, but there should be a way out of this situation,” said 25-year-old Gargi Chaddha, a resident of sector 18.
She also highlighted the lack of public toilets in the locality.
“Firstly, it is impossible to find a public toilet in the area, and if you manage to find one, it would not be in a condition to use,” she added.
Crime rate and law and order have also left the people worried. Chain and mobile phone snatching is a very common issue, according to several women who spoke with News18.
Prashant Vihar seems to be one of the worst-impacted areas. Last month, the body of a 38-year-old man was found in a park in Prashant Vihar. In November and October 2024, two blasts were reported in the area – one outside a CRPF school and another near PVR Cinema.
As per the data from the Election Commission of India, the seat has a total of 1.72 lakh voters – 83,397 women and 89,139 men. The seat falls under the north district of Delhi and has seen a total of 21 nominations of which 14 were accepted. The candidature of eight of these nominees had been finalised by Tuesday evening.
Cakewalk for BJP?
The Rohini assembly constituency, formed in 2008, is a part of the North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Except in 2013, when the Aam Aadmi Party got elected from the seat, the region has been a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Vijender Gupta, who was elected from the seat in 2015 and 2020, is now aiming for a third term.
The popularity of Gupta and the BJP could be understood from the fact that there were lanes in the assembly that were full of the party’s flags.
Speaking with News18, Gupta said that the reality of AAP is now out there in the open and people are going to vote for the BJP. “The BJP is forming the government this time,” he claimed.
Talking about the MCD’s failure to tackle the garbage issue, he accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of forgetting the promise from the 2022 municipal corporation polls of making the city garbage-free, saying that he “did nothing”.
“They turned the garbage issue into an election plank during the 2022 municipal polls, but after AAP gained control of the corporation, they forgot their promises,” Gupta said.
The importance of Rohini for the BJP can be understood from the fact that so far Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done only two rallies in Delhi for the upcoming polls and one was in Rohini.
AAP has fielded its councillor Pardeep Mittal against Vijender Gupta. While Gupta has blamed AAP for the sanitation issue as the party controls the MCD, the city’s ruling party is attacking the BJP at the Centre for the law and order situation in the area. Police in Delhi come under the union home ministry controlled by the BJP.
Mittal has claimed that the crime rate is high due to a lack of CCTV cameras and the presence of a large number of dark spots in the area.
“There are inadequate streetlights in Rohini and the law and order situation is also questionable,” he said, claiming that if he is elected, he will make Rohini safer.
The Congress has placed its bets on Sumesh Gupta, who was also its candidate in 2020 and secured 1,963 votes against the BJP’s 62,174 votes.
In 2008, BJP’s Jai Bhagwan Aggarwal won here with 56,793 votes. However, in 2013, AAP defeated him. When the assembly again went to polls in 2015, the BJP got 59,867 votes.
The fate of these candidates will be sealed by the voters on February 5 and the counting of the votes will be done on February 8.
