New Delhi: Multiple escalators meant for pedestrian safety and convenience at busy junctions in the Connaught Place area and its outer circle don’t function, despite repeated complaints from shopkeepers and the public.Following criticism some time back, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) fixed some escalators from the 22 units installed across Connaught Place that link subways to major roads. However, a significant number of the escalators continue to be out of order because of broken components and missing parts due to thefts. This causes inconvenience to office-goers, and many prefer to use zebra crossings instead of the subways.During a visit to the outer circle, TOI found escalators not working in M Block at Barakhamba Road, at the intersection of Kasturba Gandhi Marg and the outer circle, opposite the Gopaldas building, among other places.At the M Block market, no sweeping seemed to have taken place as waste had collected next to the out-of-order escalators and pedestrians were avoiding using it. “These escalators aim to dissuade people from crossing the roads haphazardly and allow smooth movement of traffic on the road. However, created by investing so much money, they are mostly non-operational,” said Ritika Gupta, a pedestrian near M Block.The situation raises questions about maintenance and security upkeep of the NDMC, which claims to have installed hundreds of CCTV cameras and developed a control and command centre for the smooth management of its services. “These open or partly damaged escalators with no guards often become the hub for unwanted activities. Ideally, NDMC should have made arrangements or installed gates at the entrances of subways to keep these facilities safe at night. People, especially women commuters, avoid using them as they become deserted.”NDMC officials stated that they do repair the units. “There are 22 escalators in the outer circle of Connaught Place, at five subways. At present, 13 are functional. While a comprehensive annual maintenance contract has been awarded to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) company, the replacement of damaged or stolen parts is not covered in the contract. The malfunctioning of the escalators is due to theft of parts or vandalism by miscreants.“Last year, the council also coordinated with the local police to check the theft of escalator items, carried out cleaning operations, and decided to depute security staff in three shifts for 75 days after the former NDMC vice chairman Satish Upadhyay made a visit to these sites.“To deal with the issue of theft of accessories, the civil engineering department has processed the case to cover all entrances and provide proper locking arrangements to avoid theft and damages,” said the NDMC official.The officials added that these escalators were installed during 2010-11. As per the CPWD work manual, the prescribed life of escalators is 15 years, which is why the OEM firm has been directed to submit a detailed survey report of all the escalators as well.The council has also placed escalators in other locations across Lutyens’ Delhi, apart from Connaught Place, and many times these are found non-operational too.
