Subways in CP battle litter, stench, darkness

Pedestrian subways across Connaught Place were littered with waste, had pools of stagnant water with mosquitoes breeding in them, some were missing lights, and entry/exit gates were shut in some others, HT found during spot checks over multiple visits last week and on Monday.

- Snehil Sinha

The spot checks were carried out at five subways around CPSansad Marg, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Barakhamba Road, and Super Bazaar with thousands of pedestrians using these facilities every day.

Also, there were no guards around at any of the subways.

"This place is so dirty that I would not use it. There is food and used condoms discarded here. The entrance itself is dark and I not sure if there is any light ahead," said Anita Gupta, a student who said she reached the steps of the subway on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, near the Palika Bazaar parking, decided against using the facility, and chose instead to cross the busy Connaught Circus while braving the heavy traffic on the road.

HT saw several other people who entered a subway to cross the road, but soon came out, usually in disgust.

One reason is the smell - the stench of urine hits a user's nose as soon as they enter these subways as a lack of guards and enforcement means several people relieve themselves inside these walking underpasses.

The subway on Kasturba Gandhi Marg was comparatively the cleanest. There was less litter, but stagnant water was seen near two gates in which mosquitoes were breeding.