Old Delhi residents rue lack of sunlight, playing space due to MCD's public parks' encroachment

They are mostly women and people from slum areas, she said.An MCD park for children in-front of the Masjid -- Urdu Park -- has turned into a place for illegal activities, locals said adding that drug addicts, hawkers and scrap dealers continue to occupy the park despite courts order.According to a vendor, these activities are taking place under the watch of the authorities.

Residents in the Jama Masjid area of old Delhi grudge over the encroachment of public parks by scrap dealers, hawkers, and drug addicts -- leaving no space for children to play and families to take a walk. Locals in the area said that that a lack of a safe and hygienic park in the area force them to go to distant places to enjoy leisure time under sun with their families.

''We don't get enough sun exposure in the homes in Old Delhi due to the cramped lanes here which restricts sun rays to directly enter our homes. The parks here are also unhygienic and not safe for women,'' a resident of the Jama Masjid locality said.

''We have to go to far off places to let our children play in a garden or simply enjoy time with our family,'' another resident added.

Every 70 in 100 patient in the area's Kasturba Hospital suffer from vitamin-D deficiency also due to little sun exposure besides nutrient deficiency, a resident doctor of the civic facility said.

She added that these patients are usually women and people coming from poor families.

''Almost 70 per cent of our patients suffer from vitamin-D deficiency which is mainly is caused by lack of sun exposure as well as nutritional deficiency. They are mostly women and people from slum areas,'' she said.

An MCD park for children in-front of the Masjid -- Urdu Park -- has turned into a place for illegal activities, locals said adding that drug addicts, hawkers and scrap dealers continue to occupy the park despite court's order.

According to a vendor, these activities are taking place under the watch of the authorities. He alleged that hawkers are allowed to keep their carts inside the park in exchange of money by the dealers.

''We are allowed to keep our carts inside the park overnight by the dealers here who charge money from us on a daily basis,'' the vendor said.

Scrap dealers have been seen keeping a stock of plastic bags and other scrap materials inside the park even in the presence of an MCD official deputed for the maintenance of the park. Speaking to PTI, an MCD official on the site said that he doesn't have the power to remove the illegal dwellers inside the park. ''We have told these people (illegal dwellers) to vacant the park many times. But they don't listen to us. It's not in my power to remove them from here. Senior officials from the Municipal will look into this,'' he said. Another MCD park in-front of the Masjid--Maulana Azad Park-- was seen open for public amid pressure after the court's order to take the possession of the park.

''The park was closed for a while but now it has been opened for public after orders by the authorities,'' a guard said adding that vendors who have put up their shops on the park's boundaries refuse to budge from their place despite asking them to remove their shops.

The High Court on November 17, ordered the MCD to take assistance from the police if required to take possession of the two parks abutting Jama Masjid. Officials from the MCD told PTI that the court's order will be implemented and necessary action to free the parks from encroachers will be taken soon.