By Zafar Abbas

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IANS): A 12-year-old boy carefully places a brick in the muddy swamp-like stretch on the road for a 70-year-old man. The old man carefully balances his weight on the brick and moves to the next step to cross the swampy stretch in southeast Delhi's Okhla Vihar in Jamia Nagar.

In the past few days many motorists have fallen from the bikes and even hurt themselves. Some pedestrians though managing to move on the sideways of the road did slip while navigating their way back home. Shopkeepers clearing the road with wipers has become a common sight. For the past few days the life of the residents of the area has become horrible as they even struggle to move out.

On Sunday some men did come out to protest as they wanted the area to be cleared of the mess with the intervention of authorities.

"There is a limit to everything. Okhla Vihar has become just like a swamp as it used to be in the late 90s. Nothing is being done by the councillor or the MLA despite reminders of the situation," said a resident.

The swampy stretch has also affected the livelihood of the vendors in the area as the people started avoiding the stretch which is also a local market. The residents have now started taking alternate routes to reach their destination skipping the muddy stretch.

"There was sewer work done in the area in the recent past. There was already mud on the road. The rains aggravated the situation. However, the administration should have acted swiftly but it has been more than a week now and no one is listening," said another resident.

The residents are demanding immediate action by the concerned authorities at the earliest.