'Great, green and trashy': Danish envoy points out garbage-ridden lane near embassy; NDMC responds
New Delhi, May 8: Danish Ambassador to India Freddy Svane on Wednesday took to social media to highlight a trash-ridden "service lane" near the Embassy of Denmark here and appealed to authorities to take necessary action.
The envoy posted a video on X in the afternoon with a caption: "Lovely and green New Delhi. Many words but no action. Saddened by this @DenmarkinIndia @CMODelhi @LtGovDelhi".
In the video, Svane, standing in the middle of the lane, points to the trash and construction debris strewn along both sides of it.
"Welcome to great, green and trashy New Delhi," he said in the video.
The envoy also gestured towards the Danish and Greek embassy buildings on either side of the lane.
"Here we have the Danish embassy and we have the Greek embassy over there. This should be a service lane, but you see it's full of trash, and people are just dumping whatever they like... So, I hope somebody will listen to this and take action. No more nice words, just action, my friends," he added.
A senior official of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) when asked about the video, said, "It was cleaned after the matter came to light. We will also ensure that such a civic situation does not arise again."
Danish Embassy is located in Chanakyapuri, home to the country's main diplomatic enclave in the national capital. The civic area in the enclave falls under the NDMC.
Chanakyapuri overall is one of the cleanest areas in New Delhi.
As the video gained traction on X, the local body later put out an official statement and said, "The NDMC welcomes feedback from any stakeholder for improving its services. In this regard, the social media message from H. E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy was promptly acted upon, which was later acknowledged by the ambassador himself to the media".
"Immediate steps have been taken on the plot of land (which is not a service lane) by lifting the dumped material," it said.
The Danish ambassador, later interacting separately with some mediapersons, thanked the NDMC and the civic workers who were part of the team that cleaned up the plot.
In an interaction with PTI, he said "We have mentioned it many times that this could not be the way... so we really had to see if we could do something" and therefore "I decided really to put out this video".
He, however, made it amply clear that it had "no political direction" and that the video highlighted the human aspect, while asserting that "we should all strive for cleanliness".
This is something that should be done whether one is in India or outside or in Denmark, the Danish envoy said. "We have the same challenges", he added.
Asked since when this civic situation has been there in the lane, he said the embassy building was inaugurated back in 2019 and a "lane was laid out" for movement of fire tenders and for any emergency situation.
Over the years, it became a place where masonry and other trash were dumped, he said, adding he had raised the issue a "number of times informally with various authorities" but today, he thought of doing something that could bring a change.
"If nothing had happened today, we would have done it ourselves tomorrow...," the envoy asserted.
The Danish ambassador said he praised the action taken by the NDMC, and he said he "praised them (civic staff) and hugged them".
"This is how India works, action, that is something I would like to praise," he said.
Svane said he has a passion for climate and environment, and "sometimes, you have to walk a little bit extra mile to bring in the attention, which I did today".
"Action is needed, and action happened," he added.
Lovely and green New Delhi. Many words but no action. Saddened by this @DenmarkinIndia @CMODelhi @LtGovDelhi pic.twitter.com/ZRH9wutfsm
— daikanyama (@svane_freddy) May 8, 2024
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
