MCD polls: Violence-hit Jahangirpuri votes for peace, harmony and cleanliness

The residents of Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri have cast their votes for peace, communal harmony and cleanliness in this Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.

The market area in Jahangirpuri which had come to a standstill in April due to clashes between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession was bustling on Sunday as people went out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

The clash that erupted on April 16 left eight police personnel and a local resident injured.

Although the situation returned to normalcy months ago, the security in the market area was slightly beefed up with the deployment of police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel every 200 metres.

Tajman Bibi, one of the Jahangirpuri voters, said he wants the upcoming MCD regime to focus on peace and communal harmony, which are his primary concerns.

“Jahangirpuri should never again witness the kind of violence it did in April. The authorities should focus on maintaining communal harmony in this area. While casting my vote, that was my only concern,” Tajman told PTI.

Another voter Rafiq echoed similar sentiments, saying that people in Jahangirpuri should not “face divisive politics” anymore.

“No matter which party comes to power in the MCD, we expect peace in Jahangirpuri. People should not face divisive politics here anymore. There should be harmony amongst all communities.”

“We do not want any sort of division on the basis of communities. We do not want people to fight amongst each other,” the 56-year-old added.

On the civic front, the residents highlighted the lack of cleanliness and garbage menace as other major issues.

Mohammad Junu,48, whose house is located in one of the congested gullies, said the drains in the area mostly remain clogged throughout the year.

“We have been facing the issue of clogged drains since several years now. We spoke to the authorities earlier many times but nobody paid heed to the issue. Due to water stagnation, drains get clogged here. This is one issue that leads to major health problems to the residents, including dengue and malaria,” he said.

A few days after the clash, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched an anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri during which bulldozers razed several structures in the area.

The exercise continued for one-and-a-half hours even after a Supreme Court directive to stop it.The civic polls, spanning 250 wards, was conducted on Sunday. The votes will be counted on December 7.