Commonwealth Games: Popular places of worship under scrutiny?

Places of religious importance form part of the itinerary of tourists visiting the capital but barring a few these are hardly ready to welcome visitors from across the world who will throng the city during the Commonwealth Games 2010.
   
The war of words between the government authorities and managements of religious places sees no end, with the latter expressing their concerns and the former claiming to have solved these.

Shahi Imam, Jamia Masjid, Ahmed Bukhari says he has written to the MCD, DDA, and government authorities many times. "There is a development plan going on in Jamia Masjid but what the authorities should remember is that it in addition to being a historical place, it is a place of worship as well.  Special care has to be taken about it," he says.

Deep Mathur, spokesperson Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), says, "We will take a considered view on this. We want managements of the religious places to coordinate with us. Before the CWG, we are going to develop the area under us properly. We have an ambitious plan and would be implementing it soon."

The spokesperson denies tardy pace of work, saying that the speed is normal and the work would be complete till the CWG. The Hanuman Mandir on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, one of the most crowded in the heart of the city, is a part of a major project under the New Delhi Municipal Committee, Council (NDMC).

"I have been coming to this mandir for a long time now and haven't seen any change as such. It is a holy place and needs to be clean. There is dirt all around," says Jayalakshmy, a devotee visiting Hanuman Mandir.

A spokesperson of NDMC, Anand Tiwari says, "We are working on a major project which includes improving the Hanuman mandir on Baba Kharak Singh Marg and as a part of the state scaping, Bangla Sahib too would see changes."

Jaswant Singh Saluja, Chairman of one of the most prominent Gurudwaras in the city, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, says, "Nobody does anything. Action is taken only if we keep on reminding. I have been here from the last 15 years and have seen no one approach us. We ourselves try to keep the vicinity clean and have been successful."

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), spokesperson, Babu Joseph says, "We will settle adequate arrangements. If the number of visitors increases, we will increase security and would welcome more and more volunteers. As such no civic body has approached us. We too haven't chalked out any plan as such."

While some religious places seem to have problems with the way the civic authorities work, a few see no reason of concern and claim to be fully geared for the CWG. 

"We are already geared if 8,000 to 10,000 people visit in a day. Even if the number increases, we will employ more people and keep the area clean. We have a quite well maintained convenience area. Cleanliness is no major issue for us now. It has become so natural," says Shatrughun Jiwnani, spokesperson Lotus temple.

The Akshardham temple sees no need for a special drive or preparation for the CWG and cleanliness is something that the temple does as a day to day effort, they say.

"There is no additional effort as of now by CWG authority or us. We are not making any extra effort because we'll not be able to cope with it. We are very clean and are working on it everyday," says Janak Dave, PRO Akshardham.

In old Delhi narrow, crowded, dirty lanes, shops and 'raidas' line up on your sides; beggars sticking to you for a penny, shopkeepers and vendors screaming at you in an attempt to invite you, is what dominates the view of Jamia Masjid.

"When more and more foreigners would come to visit the masjid due to the CWG, what impression would they get? The encroached roads are a major concern. The civic authorities blame me saying I don’t allow the cleanliness drive. What I am against is 'safaya' not 'safai'," a Masjid official says.

The authorities say that the entire Delhi would be changed as per the plan. There is a list of 'things to do' chalked out by the government and the only thing needed now is 'implementation.'

The caretaker of the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin, SA Nizamai, shows no hope in the civic authorities and says, "None of the civic bodies does anything and wouldn’t do anything. You come to the shrine and are welcomed by narrow lanes with illegally working shops on both the sides, encroachment, dirty pools of water flowing through the ‘naalas’. What would the foreigners see? This?"

On September 24, chief minister Sheila Dikshit instructed MCD, NDMC to improve the coordination with each other. Also asking MCD, NDMC to refurbish up-grade and strengthen roads with proper street lighting and street scaping.