Crossing Aurobindo Marg, flanked by the Capital's two most prestigious hospitals (AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital) on either side, has become a test of endurance and agility for both the fit and the infirm. Roadblocks, cordoned-off pavements, traffic jams and irate commuters honking for space have reduced this `silence zone' into a noisy obstacle course. And all because of the government's good intentions.

In December 1994, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) started building a subway at Aurobindo Marg connecting AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. The project was to be completed in one-and-a-half years, but three years and eight months later, work is still underway and the whole road is in a mess.

For the past three-and-a-half years, one or the other section of the road has been cordoned off for construction, thereby causing frequent traffic jams. And irritable commuters, who keep honking in the hope of triggering off a sound-activated miracle and clearing the road, make a mockery of the signboards declaring the area a `silence zone'.

What is more painful, however, is that the patients and their families still have to battle the traffic and jump over the grills on the central verge to cross the road. The ongoing construction has also reduced the pavement outside AIIMS to a huge garbage dump and a breeding ground for all kinds of diseases.

Government officials however, plead not guilty and say that they have reasons for the delay. According to NDMC superintending engineer V.S. Gupta, ``Work was delayed because we had to get the main water lines to AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital and the MTNL and electricity cables shifted without causing any inconvenience to the users. This was not in our hands. We could start our work only when the departments concerned completed the shifting.''

The budget was less than Rs two crore when the project was started, but the NDMC has ended up spending close to Rs three crore already. NDMC Chief Engineer C.M. Proothi says, ``The budget went up because we had to shift some shopkeepers and construct shops for them. Though the shops were constructed on time, it took a lot of time and effort shifting the shopkeepers.''

Expressing a little concern local MLA Ram Bhaj, who is also the NDMC vice-chairman, says, ``I have been chasing the officials for the past one year. Just a few days ago, I also met the chairman personally and he said that the subway would be completed by the end of this month.''