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Within Days Of Its Opening, Delhiites Turn Signature Bridge Into A Paan-Stained Dump

byPramit Chatterjee
13th November 2018
2 minute read

There is no doubt about the fact that India is developing on a lot of sectors. But when it comes to treating our public property, or just the environment in general, we are failing worse than the box-office collections of Blade Runner 2049. Just look at what happened after Diwali.

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In addition to this, we think that since we pay taxes, means that any public (or private) building is ours. So, we can throw garbage around it, spit on it and even take a piss on its walls. And this culture has been left unchecked for such a long time that people have stopped caring if the place they’re tarnishing is a newly opened engineering marvel.

On November 4, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the Signature Bridge and hope that it would become a tourist attraction. And, according to The Hindu, it did, but not in the way Kejriwal had intended. Sunil Kumar, a food vendor said,

“I came here to sell food for the first time today [on Sunday]. Several people who have come to the bridge are buying food from me. I have earned more than I do at usual tourist spots.”

That’s true because the bridge has become a sort of a picnic spot. And with all great picnic spots, comes a greater ton of garbage, which people are apparently dumping on the bridge.

Reports say that people who are coming to visit the Signature Bridge are openly flouting traffic norms. Motorists are driving vehicles on the wrong side of the road and others are clicking selfies by climbing on top of their vehicles. Om Prakash Sharma, a visitor said,

“The government has done a great job, but people are making the bridge dirty. It is attracting a lot of tourists for sure but it is disorganised.”

Many have appreciated the architectural beauty of the Signature Bridge. However, the same can’t be said about it maintenance. Many corners of the bridge have already become paan-stained. And those who are running out of places to dump their garbage, are sending it straight into the Yamuna.

Daily commuters are saying that the bridge has made their travelling a lot more easier than it was. That said, if these unofficial picnic spots and garbage dumping isn’t taken care off, the Signature Bridge will become a source of problem. It’s one thing to create something and a whole another process to keep it new. Let’s hope word of this fiasco reaches Kejriwal’s ears and he takes immediate action.

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