Gurugram’s Ward 13: Poor road infra triggers traffic snarls

Major roads such as Gurugram-Pataudi Road, Kargil Shaheed Sukhbir Singh Yadav Marg, and Basai Road are constantly clogged with traffic.

Ward 13, which encompasses areas such as Kadipur Village, Kadipur Enclave, Kadipur Industrial Area, Sector 37C, Amar Colony, and Auto Market among others, faces multiple civic challenges, including severe traffic congestion, broken roads, and persistent waterlogging, with little intervention from local authorities, residents allege.

The internal road of Sector 10 in Ward 13. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

According to residents, the densely populated ward, which has almost 250,000 lakhs to 300,000 population, including residential colonies as well as industrial areas, has seen an alarming rise in encroachments with illegal vendors occupying public spaces, further exacerbating the already chaotic traffic situation.

Traffic chaos, encroachments and persistent waterlogging on roads exacerbate commuting woes

Major roads such as Gurugram-Pataudi Road, Kargil Shaheed Sukhbir Singh Yadav Marg, and Basai Road are constantly clogged with traffic, causing significant delays for residents. The heavy movement of vehicles, coupled with encroachments by unauthorised vendors, garages, and shops, has turned these roads into congested bottlenecks, claimed locals.

Residents further claimed that there are a huge number of heavy vehicles that use the Gurugram-Pataudi road and Kargil Shaheed Sukhbir Singh Yadav Marg which also connects to the Delhi-Jaipur expressway at Hero Honda Chowk and the Kadipur industrial area, leading to extreme traffic congestions. Locals added that the authorities must widen these three roads and devise some traffic diversion plans to get rid of this congestion.

Rinki Singh, a resident of Sector 37C, said that it is extremely difficult to commute on these aforementioned roads. “It sometimes takes 20-30 minutes to cover just 500 meters on Kargil Shaheed Sukhbir Singh Yadav Marg due to gridlocks between Hero Honda Chowk and the intersection on Gurugram-Pataudi Road,” she said. Despite the presence of traffic police, the narrow, encroached, and muddy roads remain congested, especially near Hero Honda Chowk, Singh added.

Meanwhile, waterlogging has become routine during the monsoon, with clogged drains and poorly maintained sewers flooding the streets, locals claimed. Residents complain of round-the-clock water accumulation, turning several areas into breeding grounds for mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases. “The situation has gone from bad to worse in recent months. Sewer water keeps roadsides, and low-lying plots inundated all the time. Further, encroachment aggravates the situation as there is no space left for pedestrians to walk due to roadside vendors and shop owners who invade the walkways,” said Prateek Singh, a shopkeeper in HUDA market, Sector 10 . “The foul smell hits you the moment you step out, and customers are forced to wade through filthy water to reach my shop. It is not only affecting my business but the residents too. However, the authorities seem not to be bothered or keen on taking any action,” he added.

Poor sanitation

A manhole in Kadipur village area near MGCBL bus depot in Ward 13. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Residents said that not only monsoon, but the sewers are perpetually clogged resulting in the sewage overflowing on the main and sector roads, accumulating in low-lying areas.

Except for a few of the localities of Sector 10 where residents pay for privately hired sanitation workers, poor sanitation is a persistent issue in most parts, with roads littered with garbage and empty plots turned into illegal dumping grounds.

Shruti Gupta, a resident of Krishna Nagar, decried the unhygienic conditions and said that garbage is being dumped in front of a private school in her area. “It is a serious health hazard. Students are forced to walk past this filth every day,” she said. Gupta further said that they have raised this issue repeatedly before the authorities and politicians, but they continue to ignore it. “It is shameful that nothing has been done despite the health risks it poses to children and residents alike,” she added.

Illegal constructions and lack of basic infra

Areas like Bhawani Enclave and Basai Enclave-II have seen large-scale illegal constructions, with most residents being migrant workers from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. Rajbahadur Singh, a resident of Bhawani Enclave, said: “Most of us have been living on rent for the last 15-20 years. The only thing we have is a power supply. High tension wires pass just a few inches far from houses which is a safety hazard.”

Singh recounted an incident where two women were electrocuted due to the dangerously installed power infrastructure. “We couldn’t even register an FIR because the house was illegally constructed,” he added, pointing out the lack of safety measures.

Gurugram, India-September 09, 2024: A bare electric wire of a transformer in Ward 13 near Saraswati Enclave. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

houses are very close to the feeders. Even the transformer in the area is installed hardly two feet above ground which children can reach easily,” the Bhawani Enclave resident said.

The residents claim that they have no option but to continue to live in such an environment where they cannot rely on government intervention as the entire area is illegal and unregularised.

Locals alleged that power infrastructure in the ward is either inadequate or is installed in a way that has become a safety hazard for commuters. Similarly, they alleged that lack of functional streetlights and patrolling at night by local police makes the area prone to crimes like snatching.

Rajesh Panda, a resident of Krishna Nagar, whose 63-year-old mother Smita Panda was victim of chain snatching in November last year during morning walk, said that police hardly patrol the area, be it during morning or at night. ”There are also dark stretches on the roads due to poor or malfunctioning street lights which makes it easier suspects to target residents,” Panda added.

Dust and extreme air pollution

Residents also face severe dust and air pollution due to constant heavy vehicle movement on Gurugram-Pataudi, Kargil Shaheed Sukhbir Singh Yadav Marg, and Basai roads. They further claimed that sanitation workers hardly sweep the roads and adjacent spots owing to which, a huge amount of dust gets inside the houses in the area.

Mithun Singh of Sector 10 described how dust settles everywhere including outdoor portions of plots, vehicles and more. He said, “Our homes get covered in thick layers of dust if doors or windows remain open for just a few minutes.” According to Singh, the suspended dust particles, exacerbated by inadequate road sweeping, have led to health issues like allergies, breathing problems, and persistent coughs among children and the elderly in the area.

Nishant Kumar Yadav, Gurugram deputy commissioner, said he will ask the civic agency officials to look into the problems, specially that of illegal dumping and blocked sewers. “The issue of traffic snarls will be taken up in monthly road safety meeting for resolution. There are road construction projects in pipeline for the area too which should account for the congestion,” he said.

Meanwhile, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram comissioner Narhari Singh Bangar said that teams are already working on fixing and repairing potholes and bad roads. “This team will also visit the spots of ward 13 to prepare a report on the actions needed. Officials will be also asked to check the illegal dumping spots and stop such activities along with taking action against the violators,” Bangar added.