Residents of Kausalya Vihar colony in Jaipur are living in a state of anxiety and fear. The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) is moving forward with plans that the locals claim will completely block the only road connecting their settled colony to the outside world.
Colony's Lifeline Under Threat
The dispute centers around land near Muhana Mandi in JDA's Zone-8, which falls under the Sanganer Assembly constituency. Locals allege that land originally designated for residential use is now being diverted for other purposes. According to the residents, the JDA intends to construct a boundary wall to facilitate a sewage treatment plant (STP) and commercial projects. This wall, they say, will seal off their primary access route.
Chandrashekhar Chaudhary, a resident of Kausalya Vihar, explained the historical significance of the pathway. "Kausalya Vihar is a settled colony. There is a nearly 200-year-old road outside our colony. It was earlier a dirt track, but now JDA is planning to build a wall that will block our access to it," he stated.
Broken Promises and Growing Concerns
Chaudhary further highlighted the sense of betrayal felt by the community. People had purchased plots in JDA's own Swarn Vihar housing scheme with the belief that a 100-foot-wide road would be available for access. He pointed out that commercial shops were already carved out and sold on government land along this very road. "Now the remaining space is being used for laying STP lines. Govt land is being sold while farmers' land is being acquired elsewhere, and our road is being walled off. This area is now densely populated," Chaudhary added, emphasizing the impracticality of the move.
Beyond the issue of access, the community has raised serious health and environmental alarms. The construction of a sewage treatment plant situated between residential colonies poses significant risks. Residents worry about potential contamination, foul odors, and the long-term impact on their well-being and property values.
Officials Unreachable, Tensions Rise
Attempts to get an official response or clarification from the authorities have so far been unsuccessful. Efforts to contact Zone-8 deputy commissioner Upendra Kumar Sharma for his comments on the matter did not yield any response. This lack of communication has only fueled the residents' fears and frustration, leaving them in a precarious situation where their primary connectivity and health are at stake due to the authority's proposed actions.
The people of Kausalya Vihar now await urgent intervention and dialogue with the Jaipur Development Authority to resolve this critical issue before their only road is permanently sealed.
