Beset with mushrooming slums and unplanned growth, Timarpur has been crying for complete revamp. Despite the Assembly seat being won by the ruling party — Congress — poor drainage system, broken roads and scarcity of water are amongst the glaring problems for the residents of this area. Sunder Pal Singh Bittoo, the sitting MlA, belongs to the Congress and has successfully been retaining the seat since 1998.
Timarpur houses certain affluent colonies, including Banarasi Das Estate, Bungalow Road and Delhi University, where the civic amenities are comparatively better. However, majority of areas and residential blocks lack development. There are several Government colonies as well as Timarpur is the first Government colony set by the Government of India. Mukherjee Nagar, Dhaka Gaon, Parmanand Colony, GTB Nagar. Kingsway Camp, Hudson lane, Outram lane and Hakikat Nagar are the prominent colonies along with some 20,000 Government flats and the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) sprawling campus. Connectivity to Metro and its proximity to the Delhi University’s North Campus have given this constituency a special tag. A small sized society — Banarasi Das Estate — houses many rich businessmen of North Delhi. Rajinder Gupta, a resident of this colony had won this seat in 1993 on a BJP ticket.
The Timarpur constituency is home to both big bungalows as well as crammed locales. On the one hand, one can find swanky houses, some of which are unauthorised constructions, along with Government quarters — while on the other, a large portion of the constituency is occupied by slum dwellers. Timarpur also bears the distinction of housing a 100-year-old plus market. The market was established when Delhi was declared the Capital during the British Raj in 1911. Yet the market has not seen development as it should have.
The constituency has been a firm indicator of which way the political wind blows in the Capital. In 1993, when the BJP formed the Delhi Government under Madan lal Khurana, the constituency chose Rajendra Gupta as its representative. In the last three terms (1998, 2003 and 2008), it has voted for the Congress. If one were to go by popular mood, a change appears imminent here in November. “Drains lie uncovered at many places,” said Dinesh Duneja, a resident of Hakikat Nagar.
In Dhirpur, congested roads with haphazard and unauthorised parking make it difficult for people and vehicles to co-exist. The Old lucknow Road bears the scars of an undergoing construction bid and the nearby garbage dump too seems to have been forgotten by the civic body. People are also agitated by graft, inflation in prices of vegetables and petrol. Hence, the BJP have nominated former Delhi Mayor and law professor Rajni Abbi from the area. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given a chance to Harish Khanna, a Hindi professor of Shyam lal College of Delhi University.
