Chandigarh, Nov. 13 -- In a stark contrast to the rest of Chandigarh, this ward is far removed from City Beautiful's reputation for wide roads and green belts. This densely populated belt-home to a large migrant workforce-is grappling with frequent incidents of stabbings, snatchings, and drug seizures besides civic neglect, including uncollected garbage, choked sewers and erratic water supply. Carved out when Mauli Jagran village was split into two wards ahead of the 2021 municipal corporation (MC) polls, Ward 7 comprises Vikas Nagar, Mauli Complex, Charan Singh Colony, and Ambedkar Colony. While delimitation altered its boundaries, the core neighbourhoods of Mauli Complex and Vikas Nagar have remained a BJP stronghold for 20 years. Yet, with current councillor Manoj Kumar Sonkar completing his maiden term, internal party factionalism is out in the open. Veteran BJP leader and former deputy mayor Anil Kumar Dubey-a local resident and three-term councillor for Mauli Jagran-has publicly criticised Sonkar's tenure. "The councillor was hardly present in the ward after getting elected. Since I live here, residents still come to me to get their work done," Dubey said. "Water supply is erratic, cleanliness is at an all-time low, and blocked sewerage lines are a constant headache." Dubey alleged that 18 murders took place in the area during the outgoing councillor's term, leaving residents in fear. A walk through the ward reflects a visible lack of enforcement. In Vikas Nagar, where lanes are too narrow for cars, motorcycles with modified truck horns and silencers speed through with three to four riders and barely a helmet in sight. The Vikas Nagar booth market has emerged as a hub for narcotics. Fearful of retaliation, a local shopkeeper said customers avoid the market after dusk as youths openly sell and consume drugs there. While police patrol the main stretches, he said they cannot be everywhere at once and suggested setting up permanent police beat boxes at vulnerable points. In June 2025, Chandigarh member of Parliament Manish Tewari inaugurated a CCTV surveillance network in the area. However, several cameras were subsequently stolen or vandalised, prompting an FIR at the Mauli Jagran police station. Police pointed out that offenders often cross over from Panchkula's adjoining slums to commit crimes and slip back across the border. Mukesh Rai, the chairman of the Chandigarh Congress Colony Cell and a Vikas Nagar resident, said water and power outages disrupted even KarwaChauth and Diwali festivities this year....