‘Nehru Place ko chamkao’

However, considering the deteriorating condition of the infrastructural facilities at the IT hub, it is high time that channel partners and vendors of Nehru Place took the initiative to improve the flickering condition of the market.

Taking the initiative, Manisha Sood, Country Manager, SanDisk Corporation recently called for a meeting with eight estate managers of Nehru Place to discuss the issues regarding the welfare of Nehru Place. The program initiated by her is called ‘Nehru Place ko chamkao’.

Along with the estate manager, the meeting was also attended by Saket Kapoor, CEO, Green Vision and the secretary of Vishal Bhawan building.

Mentioning the reason for calling a meeting, Sood said, “Nehru Place is the business hub for the IT channel community in Delhi and we need to take the initiative to make it a better place, so that it is safe and secure for the employees and employers. The agenda of the meeting is to discuss what needs to be done and how it has to be done so that we can transform the area into a better place. If needed, we will seek the cooperation of government authorities, and we all have to put our individual efforts into doing whatever is possible.”

The issues discussed in the meeting included unauthorized vendors and hawkers, bad lighting condition, unhygienic areas in all the buildings, street cleanliness, requirement of authorized and sufficient parking, absence of water supply and common public utility centers and security measures to control anti-social activities.

Also, safety and security of working women is a major issue of concern in Nehru Place. In the absence of street lights and unrestricted walk-in of visitors, the market is vulnerable to anti-social elements. This raises the security issues of working women in the hub.

Saket Kapur opened the discussion by stating that because of the poor infrastructural situation of Nehru Place, customers are reluctant to come over for shopping and the lady staff are unwilling to put in extra hours for any emergency work because of the unsafe conditions in the evenings. “There are several problems that exist in the market which are not acceptable from the safety and security point of view. We have taken these issues to the concerned government authorities but no actions have been taken yet. We need to take collective action so that all the businessmen who are thriving in this segment can have a safe future,” mentioned Kapur.

Mohd Naseem Khan, Estate manager, Vishal Bhawan, present at the meeting said, “We have already approached the government bodies seeking support on this issue, however, nothing has been done till now. Estate managers and businessmen sitting in their respective buildings need to take feasible action at an individual front. Building owners can play a big role in improving the condition inside and around their building.”

Recently, Delhi police had declared Nehru Place to be on the radar of terrorists. Considering the critical issues prevailing in the area that need to be monitored by the government authorities, the estate managers are now looking forward to discussing the issues with the Delhi Development Authorities and Lt Governor General.

Adding punch to the ‘Nehru Place ko chamkao’ campaign, is The DQ Week’s initiative to restore the lost glory of the area by creating awareness amongst the local business units located here.