Emerald Hills residents protest over lack of access road

Emerald Hill residents said that they have approached the developer, Emaar, and the government authorities but there has been no resolution

Residents of Emerald Hills condominium in Sector 65 on Saturday held a sit-in protest outside their society to protest against the lack of an access road and lack of corrective measures after a temporary access road caved in last month.

Residents of Emerald Hills condominium in Sector 65 on Saturday held a sit-in protest outside their society to protest against the lack of an access road and lack of corrective measures after a temporary access road caved in last month.

Residents said that they have approached the developer, Emaar, and the government authorities but there has been no resolution. They said that the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) had also inspected the area and directed the developer to repair the road.

Satyanand Shukla, a member of the residents’ welfare association (RWA) said that more than 100 residents took part in the protest on Saturday. “We plan to fight until the developer provides us with three 24-metre access roads and repairs the caved-in road on priority,” he said.

The protesters also threatened to block the Golf Course Extension Road and the deputy commissioner’s office at the Mini Secretariat if their issues are not resolved.

The developer, however, said that the construction of 24-metre roads to the condominium falls under the jurisdiction of local authorities. “This matter has been followed up regularly with authorities at various levels. Repeated attempts have made been to repair and restore but all such sincere efforts and attempts have, time and again, been stalled by locals. Concerned authorities have been apprised of the issues involved, and we await their intervention in order to resolve the matter,” a spokesperson for Emaar said.

Protesters said that around 3,000 residents of the condominium are suffering for the past month since the road caved in. They also alleged that there has been no action on the ground on complaints to DTCP and CM Window. They alleged that authorities continue to shift the blame among one another and the developer, despite residents having paid external development charges for basic infrastructure.

“Despite being just 200 metres away from the Golf course Extension Road, it takes a five-kilometre detour and 30 additional minutes to reach the main road (from the society).The world seems to be so out of bound for us, especially ladies and Kids,” Swati Wilton, a resident, said.