Dwarka e-way: Gurugram residents slam railings’ installation

Residents said that the delay in the construction of service lanes along the expressway forced them to take short cuts.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has begun restricting jaywalking and illegal crossings by installing metal safety guardrails at 50 cut surfaces along the Dwarka Expressway this month, however, residents along the expressway alleged that due to the railings, connectivity to their housing societies have become uncertain.

NHAI officials said that the railing along the 18 kilometre corridor is underway to prevent accidents and stop traversing. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

NHAI officials said that the railing along the 18 kilometre corridor is underway to prevent accidents and stop traversing. “The initiative is part of an ongoing project and is being undertaken to ensure the safety of commuters driving on the corridor. It will not be the responsibility of NHAI if open cuts on the expressway lead to any untoward incidents,” a senior NHAI official said, requesting anonymity.

Sunil Sareen, vice president of Imperial Gardens’ resident welfare association (RWA) in Sector 102 said, “Road safety comes first, however, many societies where no service lanes have been built despite repeated grievances to authorities will be deprived of a direct connection to the corridor. The residents will be forced to take internal roads, which partially exist only in patches in New Gurugram sectors.”

HT tried contacting MCG officials for a comment on the condition of the internal roads, however, no response was received by the time of going to print.

Residents said that the delay in the construction of service lanes along the expressway forced them to take short cuts. “Absence of a service road along the expressway is now proving a nightmare for residents on both sides. Internal roads are already in a pathetic condition. If NHAI is putting railings along the carriageway, then it will block the way for residents, causing more inconvenience,” said Ranjan Jain, a resident of Chintels Serenity in Sector 109.

According to the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the governing body responsible for maintenance service lanes along the expressway, the work along the stretch merging into Central Peripheral Road (CPR) is completed. “The remaining 25% of the portion on the other side of the expressway lacks proper service lane connectivity due to alignment issues regarding utilities on the stretch. Once the realignment work is completed soon and Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) restrictions get diluted, the construction work for service lanes will resume,” a senior GMDA official said.

Meanwhile, residents urged the civic and highway authorities not to install metal railings temporarily on cuts that are close to societies.

“Safety of commuters on the expressway is paramount. We cannot allow informal channels of entry, as it may lead to any untoward incidents. Every two to three months, we have been writing letters to GMDA to complete service road work,” another senior official at NHAI said.