We have been residents of GK-2 for the past 45 years having made it our abode after my husband‘s retirement from the Indian Army. At the time that we moved in here, our colony was considered to be one of the poshest areas of the city. I used to go for my regular evening walks and it used to be an absolute delight to walk on our colony roads. I still remember how the colony would be regularly fumigated every fortnight or so and how the trees would get frequently pruned especially at the onset of the rainy season. In fact, the standard rule being followed back in those days was to ensure that the height of the trees would not go above the electric wires in order to obviate any untoward incident caused by any tree falling and snapping the electric cables.
Over the years, everything seems to have changed. The shabby trees have started giving a look of a jungle to our colony. The trees now keep falling every now and then under the weight of their own foliage and are unable to weather even the mildest of the storms. The damage that this causes to life and property is huge. The back lanes used to be kept so clean that our children would use them as short cuts to get home through the rear entrance. I fondly cherish the memories of a Tea Party that a friend hosted some years back in her back lane that resembled a pretty garden. These same back lanes now look like a slum area, thanks largely to the Builders‘ unregulated activities. Leave side sitting outdoors, we cannot even now sit inside our house without being perennially disturbed by the noise coming from outside.
Heavy machines, Concrete Mixers and Earth Movers rumble past our homes at all hours not just creating noise pollution but also damaging roads and creating vibrations that cause a structural threat to our buildings. Does anyone hold any accountability for these actions? Do the agencies responsible for ensuring our civics welfare, ever come and check on us?
