Drainage, repair work ordered on Sikri stretch on NH44

The decision to repair a leaking pipeline, which had led to waterlogging and cave in of the road, was taken during a high-level meeting among local and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) representatives on Sunday

A busy intersection on the Srinagar-Kanyakumari Expressway (NH-44) in front of Sikri, which connects around 50-60 villages to Ballabgarh town in Faridabad, is set to undergo repair works which includes clearing the knee-deep water that has been stretching along the NH-44 for the past three months, officials said on Tuesday.

Officials said that the leakage reported in the pipeline would be fixed by Wednesday.

The decision to repair a leaking pipeline, which had led to waterlogging and cave in of the road, was taken during a high-level meeting among local and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) representatives on Sunday, according to officials aware of the matter.

Mool Chand Sharma, MLA of Ballabhgarh assembly constituency, who was present at the Sunday meet, said that many fatal accidents, which used to take place on the descending patch, would be prevented.

“The persistent rain showers and poor drainage led to the water from a nearby 8-acre-wide deep pond spreading across the highway, further damaging it to an extent that it became impossible for commuters to drive through it freely,” said Sharma.

“Locals from the nearby areas began dumping wastewater along the submerged portion of the Sekri stretch on NH-44. If no timely action is taken, FIRs against local officials, including road engineers and village heads, should be lodged, and they should be held responsible for accidents happening on the stretch,” Sharma said, adding that the repeated complaints from the residents were ignored by the local administration.

“Every day, three to four vehicles need to be lifted from the stretch as they get stuck inside due to deep potholes,” Sharma said, adding that despite being a busy road, connecting the National Capital Region (NCR) to Mathura, the situation kept on worsening.

Mayank Bhardwaj, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Ballabgarh–who attended the meeting–acknowledged the growing concerns.

“A pipeline, which was installed earlier, connected the pond in Sikri village to Gaunchi drain, was broken, resulting in waterlogging on both ends of the road, with nearby villages left in vulnerable condition—with the water running into the homes of villagers,” Bhardwaj said.

Bhadwaj informed that the leakage reported in the pipeline would be fixed by Wednesday. “Rebuilding activities on the highway’s stretch would be initiated once the water is cleared off the road. We have a patchwork planned in the coming weeks to address the safety concerns flagged by commuters,” said Bhardwaj.

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