Couple is Accidentally Sealed Inside Their Home

May 11th, 2008
The Associated Press
By: ASHOK SHARMA

New Delhi - The Wadhwas were enjoying a nap after lunch when a team of overzealous New Delhi officials padlocked their gate, trapping the elderly couple inside and inadvertently bringing them to the center of a heated debate about zoning laws and illegal businesses.

The couple was caught up in a sweeping municipal drive to instill order in India's chaotic capital by shutting down and demolishing illegally built structures that have sprung up like mushrooms across the sprawling city of 14 million.

City employees mistook the residence of Madhusudan Wadhwa, 76, and his wife for a commercial business in violation of local zoning laws when they locked their gate Monday, officials said.

The couple didn't realize they were trapped until their son visited that evening and saw the municipal seal outside, Wadhwa said Tuesday.

It took four hours for police and city officials to realize the error and open the gate.

Wadhwa runs a small business selling sweets to small shops but he doesn't work from his house, he said. The Wadhwas have never received any legal warnings or notices from the city before being sealed inside their house.

The city's sealing drive has shut down hundreds of structures, many of which were built without regard for safety, aesthetics or zoning laws. The hit list includes cubbyhole stores in residential neighborhoods, restaurants without proper licenses, international businesses lacking registration — and, apparently, sleepy homes after lunch.

The Wadhwas' plight received heavy news coverage Tuesday.

'It was great negligence on the part of the officers,' New Delhi Mayor Aarti told CNN-IBN news channel. 'We are going to take very strict action against the officers who have done this.'

There was no comment from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Tuesday and calls to their offices went unanswered.

The sealing drive began in 2005 when India's Supreme Court ordered the New Delhi municipality to demolish buildings without permits or those that violated zoning laws.