By Saiyed Danish, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The popularity of Shoaib Iqbal in the legislative constituency of Matia Mahal in Old Delhi can remind you of the fame of Ajay Devgan’s character of Sultan Mirza in the movie Once Upon A Time in Mumbai.
The long stretches of the Matia Mahal market situated just opposite of Jama Masjid and the narrow by-lanes of this bustling erstwhile Shah Jahanabad continues to sing the praises of their sitting MLA who has been victorious for last three consecutive terms. Even his shifting allegiances from LJP to JDU five a week earlier couldn’t budge his support base among his voters.
“The inner secret is that if a leader will work for us, we will vote him regardless of which party he represents,” says Mohammad Javed (37) a utensil seller from the constituency.
But Mahmood Zia, who had secured 17,870 votes (27.75%) in the last elections held in 2008 and secured the runner-up position after having contested on Congress ticket, has been raising the issue of ill-maintenance of sewers and unavailability of water in the past and also claiming that hardly any work has been done in the last 20 years.
The inhabitants of Matia Mahal point out to the sewer lines, visible from beneath the road-side fillings, which they allege has been laid been laid down only last week.
However, there is also a lingering list of grievances and complaints coming from the same den of the leader.
“Matia Mahal is reeling under the hike in the electricity bills due to the introduction of the new electricity metres. This is something of an issue we would like our MLA to take up this election,” says Abid Shirazi, (36), who divides his professional time between Sadar Bazaar and Matia Mahal.
Police apathy of the minority in the area is also an area of concern for the residents. “The anger against the police runs high among many Muslims. Some days ago, a minor scuffle had taken place in our area and we approached the police asking them to mediate but they shooed us away,” Abid adds.
Subhash Agarwal, who has filed a good number of RTIs on various important issues dealing with governance in Delhi, shared his disgust with Twocircles.net on the mushrooming of illegal construction from Matia Mahal to Chandni Chowk. He mentioned the case of Ansar Alam, an engineer, who was badly thrashed by the goons in February last year, and said that he had put a halt to all activities of encroachments till the time he was there but once he left the construction mafia build a number of authorized high rises.
“I could see Jama Masjid from the terrace of my home, but now it pains me to tell you that the beautiful view is blocked, thanks to the growth of the underground boom-town,” he said at his Chandni Chowk residence.
He also expressed his concern about the role of religious bodies in encroachment. “A part of the site when the Akbarabadi Mosque and its premises have been discovered was earmarked for building a community park but now the plan lay in shambles,” he says.
While holding the leaders responsible for the mess created at Jama Metro site he said that it has become a new trick nowadays to usurp lands in the name of temples and mosques and it works because they know that nobody will cry foul as it is a matter of faith.
“The MLAs in Old Delhi have encouraged the goons so much that they build an entire shopping plaza right under the nose of the MCD office near Townhall locality,” he alleges.
There is also a big problem of traffic, he said. “We do have broad roads in Old Delhi but they encroached by religious intuitions, road side vendors and transport truck and their scattered goods on the road. It creates problem for both the residents and visitors.”
Although a parking lot in Parade Maidan has been developed but he demanded an automated multi-level parking like the ones in Palika Bazaar “and it is a major issue for us” he asserts.