Inaugurating work to lay a sewage network in West Delhi’s Kirari and Mundka constituencies Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated the promise of a free pilgrimage to Ram temple in Ayodhya once it is built.
Addressing a large gathering in a congested locality in Kirari, where a stage was set up in the middle of a road that was sealed, Kejriwal said the Supreme Court had ordered constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya 1.5 years ago. “Construction has begun and will be completed in the next two years. We have planned to provide free pilgrimage to the Ram temple in Ayodhya for all elderly people in Delhi. The cost of everything, including their travel, shelter, food, will be covered by the Delhi government,” he said.
“I do not care what the opposition says about me. As long as the love and faith of the people is with me, I do not care about the world,” Kejriwal added.
He also said that to celebrate 75 years of Independence, the Delhi government has planned several activities including setting up 500 flag masts across the city, like the one in Connaught Place. “It will instill a feeling of patriotism in children and people while they travel to their schools and colleges every morning. But the opposition says flags should not be installed in Delhi and are calling it a waste of money,” Kejriwal said.
He also said that by introducing deshbhakti classes in schools for an hour each day, children will graduate as “kattar deshbhakts”, who are ready to “sacrifice themselves” for the country.
On the sewage network project in Kirari, Kejriwal said he was fulfilling the promise made to residents before the assembly election to fix the problem.
The project to lay sewage network in 109 unauthorised colonies in Kirari and five in Mundka constituencies will be completed in four years with a budget of Rs 480 crore. The Delhi Jal Board will begin laying sewer lines in the area, stretching about 423 km, which will take sewage from the area to a treatment plant at Rohini. Officials said this would help in reducing pollution in the Yamuna.
Meanwhile, when Kejriwal got on stage to speak, a girl in the crowd interrupted him by waving a letter to get his attention. Laxmi Bharti (18), a resident of Kirari, said she was seeking the CM’s help to continue her studies at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Kolkata. She said her request for a loan from several banks to pay Rs 11.5 lakh fees at the institute has been turned down and her family is not able to support her financially — her father being a delivery person for an e-commerce company and owning little property.
The CM asked his staff to get the letter even as locals tried to usher the girl and her mother out of the venue. Bharti said she had not received a response from the CM office as of Sunday evening.
