A fresh political row has erupted in Delhi centering around a stretch of road built near the Ring Road in the Vikaspuri area. The controversy gained momentum after a portion of the road was captured on video peeling off easily by hand, triggering sharp accusations and counter-accusations between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. While opposition leaders have targeted the government and Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, the minister, representatives from the gurdwara management, and a PWD engineer have stepped forward to present their side and clarify the circumstances surrounding the construction.
Temporary Work and Gurupurab Preparations
The central question surrounding the road has been why such substandard construction was carried out in the first place. Addressing this query through a video statement, Parvesh Sahib Singh claimed that the road was never intended as a permanent structure. Instead, it was laid down temporarily as a makeshift arrangement to ensure smooth movement for commuters and devotees attending the upcoming religious celebrations of Gurupurab, preventing any inconvenience to the visiting public.
Overnight Patchwork to Ease Congestion
Parvesh Sahib Singh explained that the management of the gurdwara located near the Vikaspuri Ring Road had formally requested a temporary repair of the approach road in view of the impending Gurupurab celebrations. According to the gurdwara management, a major religious event was scheduled for the 5th of the month. Anticipating a large gathering of devotees, the management wanted the thoroughfare to remain motorable and passable until the conclusion of the event. Acting on this request, some material was laid down overnight to make the surface temporarily motorable. It was maintained that once the festivities concluded, the entire road would be constructed properly following standard engineering procedures and high-quality norms.
Engineer Insights and Claims of Pressure
A PWD engineer present at the site also clarified the situation regarding the road construction. According to the engineer, the stretch was made motorable on a temporary basis overnight under pressure to facilitate visitors to the gurdwara. The engineer explicitly stated that this was not a regular PWD permanent construction project executed through standard tendering processes. The original plan was to mill the service lane later and rebuild the road with proper quality standards. Additionally, the PWD engineer noted that around 60 to 70 people had gathered at the site during the work, exerting pressure on the engineering staff.
Counter-Claims Over Video and Allegations
Local MLA Jarnail Singh was also drawn into the controversy, leading to a strong counter-attack from Parvesh Sahib Singh. The minister alleged that Jarnail Singh filmed the very same road to raise questions about its poor quality, claiming that the road surface had been intentionally loosened just before the video was recorded so that it could be easily pulled apart to create a spectacle. However, this assertion remains an allegation by Parvesh Sahib Singh and lacks independent verification from available inputs. Furthermore, the minister stated that road construction work is already underway on a two-to-three-kilometer stretch further back, and the temporarily paved section would also be properly reconstructed in due course.
Conversely, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh presented a different sequence of events. He stated that he received a call from the Delhi PWD minister shortly before the incident, asking him to visit the area to inspect the road he had been complaining about. Upon arriving, Singh claimed the minister asked him to show where the road was broken, prompting the MLA to lift a layer of the road like a carpet with his own hands to demonstrate the reality. According to Singh, the minister panicked at the sight and instead of taking action against PWD officials, allegedly slapped his associate Sahib Singh, who was recording a video of the interaction. The incident has intensified political tensions in the capital as both sides continue to trade blame.
