NEW DELHI: A legal wrangling between the state governments of Delhi, India's national capital, and the adjacent Uttar Pradesh (UP), the largest Indian province, over a small piece of land, has led to a bizarre situation for the residents of Shaheen Bagh, an area that lies in South Delhi, the heart of the city.

At the core of this civic crisis is a narrow canal, which passes through the residential areas of Shaheen Bagh. The canal legally comes under the jurisdiction of UP govt., which displays hardly any interest to maintain it as the area it passes through comes under Delhi administration.

Caught in this inter-state dispute are the residents of the area who face multiple health hazards due to growing diseases and epidemics that are caused due to breeding mosquitoes in the filthy water of the drain.

The drain by the side of the narrow road often leads to accidents too as it is wide open.

While the governments of UP and Delhi fight it out in court for their right over the road, the residents on both sides of the road are going through a nightmare.

Once a local lawmaker, Asif Mohammad Khan, ordered construction of a new sewer system to replace the old one. But, UP’s irrigation department took the matter to court and got a stay over the construction. With no sewer system, all the water from buildings on both sides come to the dug up area right in the midst of the road, thereby making it an open drain, with varying width at several places.

As the governments of neighboring states wrangle it out in court, the residents of the area are facing a tough time. Their fate depends on which way the court decides this road belongs to.