Desolation in a ghost town

Poor connectivity, security concerns and small size of units have proven a deterrent for potential homebuyers, leaving occupancy limited to just around 15% in the entire Narela-Bawana housing cluster since 2010

- Paras Singh

Standing atop the terrace of a 13-storey tower in sector G7 in Narela - a vast expanse of seemingly endless rows of residential high-rises-a sense of desolation and melancholy is inescapable. In this 184acre area, people are a rare sight.

The silence is punctuated only by barking dogs or the occasional hum of passing vehicles and e-rickshaws from a nearby road.

To one side, a towering garbage mound looms over the complex, while the wind howls through the corridors of unoccupied towers. As the sun sets, the solitary lives of a few residents become glaringly visible with one or two isolated windows glowing with dim white light-a rare sign of habitation in the "ghost town".

PT Selvam, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and the sole occupant of a tower in the F block, says he never ceases to get startled with the noises of footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. "Drug addicts often roam these buildings at night, stealing pipes, wires, switches anything they can find," Selvam says. The vandalism has caused frequent disruptions to water and power.

HT saw that the damaged boundary walls in the block were being rebuilt and a repair team was also busy adding wires. Selvam said that utility problems are consistent.

"You have to request utility personnel, and hope things get addressed... Three towers down, a family moved in a few months ago, but they left within a month due to the vandalism," said Selvam, who lives with his wife and a toddler daughter.

Unoccupied flats and fading promises

Pocket 5 of Sector G7/8, is a sprawling complex which spans 4.71 hectares, includes 4,291 lowincome group (LIG) flats and 960 economically weaker section (EWS) flats constructed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).