GMDA closes temporary road in sector 99, hundreds of families get impacted

Residents alleged that several cars and heavy trucks which used this stretch to travel on Dwarka Expressway, and Gargi Harsaru Road got stuck after the temporary road was closed by the authorities on Thursday noon.

Hundreds of families and commuters got affected after the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on Thursday closed a temporary path through the Badshahpur drain in Sector 99. Residents alleged that they were cut off from the Dwarka Expressway due to the closure.

The closed stretch which was being used by commuters. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Residents alleged that several cars and heavy trucks which used this stretch to travel on Dwarka Expressway, and Gargi Harsaru Road got stuck after the temporary road was closed by the authorities on Thursday noon.

The situation worsened as a non-motorable revenue road in front of the under-construction Sector 99 power station near Dwarka expressway was used by a concrete truck and it got stuck while trying to cross the road. The residents of the area alleged that due to closure, and incomplete work on the revenue road, they were now being forced to use a hazardous path over the Badshahpur drain riddled with potholes, putting daily commuters at risk.

Meanwhile, GMDA officials said that they had closed the temporary road over the Badshahpur drain as several portions of the slab had got damaged and there was a possibility of serious accident on the temporary path. “Heavy vehicles such as dumpers, trucks and concrete trucks move on this road along with normal traffic. The slab had got damaged at several places and at one place it has also got caved in. Around 300 metres of the path has been closed to avoid any accident,” said Vikram Singh executive engineer, GMDA.

Singh said that he was sending a team of GMDA officials to the spot to assess the situation.

Local residents alleged that hundreds of families living in condominiums such as Pareena Lakshmi Apartments, Pareena Coban Residency, Pareena Elite Express Heights, Cosmos Express Heights, and Lotus Elise are facing severe inconvenience and have raised concerns.

“This path was always dangerous, but we had no choice but to use it if we wanted to reach the Dwarka Expressway,” said Santosh Kumar, a resident of Sector 99A. “We have been using this stretch for almost a year. Now that GMDA has blocked it entirely, we are forced to take a longer route through Garhi Harsaru and Dhankot, adding nearly 10 kilometres to our daily travel.”

“This has entirely cut us off from the other sectors and from Gurugram,” he said.

Residents also said they are now forced to drop their children at the nearby highway, nearly two to three kilometres from their societies, as school buses are unable to enter the area. “We cannot enter or exit the sector since both routes are blocked,” said a resident of Pareena Elite Express Heights, requesting anonymity.

“We feel the authorities are treating this matter like a joke. They are taking it far too lightly. As long as they are not affected, they don’t seem to care about the problems that residents face,” he added.

“There were cracks, and the movement of heavy vehicles only made the situation worse. It could have ended in a tragedy, like the one in Noida,” said Kumar.