India’s capital city is full of private residential “colonies” protected by locked gates. But many claim the barriers don't stop crime and chaos

Delhi’s gates have a powerful network of supporters: the city’s Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), which look after the day-to-day affairs of its vast array of colonies. Many of these gated enclaves are located between main roads or are home to markets. RWAs say that the gates are needed to fend off non-resident drivers seeking shortcuts and parking spaces.

“The issue is your life. Your life here is not normal because the pressure on the road is too much for simple things in life like cycling, walking, just crossing the road,” says Poonam Bhasin, vice president of the RWA in a colony called Lajpat Nagar III. “Do they even get that the residents have their own lives? That there are children crossing the road?”

RWAs and the gates they put up exemplify a common trend in Delhi: Wealthier residents tend to come up with private solutions rather than wait for public authorities to meet their demands. “It’s an urban planning fault,” says Bhasin of the colony’s congestion issues. “You cannot have feeder roads in between a thriving colony … so you have to work around the system.”

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