Patparganj Industrial Area is 'sick'

PATPARGANJ: At the outset, Patparganj Industrial Area (PIA) exudes professionalism with huge gates signifying the entry point to the place. Even when you venture inside, the din of machineries wouldn''t let you on the real picture. It is the proverbial backyard of the industrial estate that really stinks.
The yards of garbage strewn all over the street spoil the perfect picture.Stay on and wonder around for a while and you will discover the civic disaster that Patparganj Industrial Area is.
To start with the basics, the labourers do not get any drinking water, industrial units suffer long breakdowns, the sewage is perpetually blocked and the mounting dump of garbage doesn''t need to be pointed out. Explains V N Sharma, president of Patparganj Functional Industrial Area Entrepreneurs Association (PFEA): "Operating an industrial unit is very troublesome here. We have to get water from our homes, face long breakdowns leading to heavy losses and the less said about the garbage and sewage disposal, the better."
Drinking water seems to be one of the biggest sour points. Says Sharma: "For the last 14 years of this industrial estate''s existence, there has been no provision for availability of water. How can we run our units without water?"
Agrees Kuldeep Jain, a garments trader: "Water supply is only for about 30 minutes every morning. The rest of the day we have to subsist on the groundwater which is unfit for drinking. Our labour force has to function without water."
This is only the tip of the iceberg. Lack of proper sewage and garbage disposal also has industrialists fuming. Owners of industrial units are quick to point out that while the MCD shrugs off the responsibility of taking care of the garbage disposal system, it diligently collects the house tax from them.
Residents also complain against the non-usage of about 84 kiosks that had been set up for commercial purposes. Says R K Kaushik, treasurer (PFEA): "These kiosks have not been used ever since they were created five years back, which is long enough period for public property to be lying vacant. The authorities haven''t been able to decide a definite policy to dispose off this land."
Non-usage of the kiosk has led to encroachment of the area. "Construction of kiosks would really benefit our labourers but nothing has ever been done," Kaushik.
There was also a provision for banks and post-office, but the official files are still gathering dust.
Jain, however, points out: "The association recently met industries minister Mangat Ram Singhal and are hopeful of change for better." But who knows that it''s not just another political promise?