NHAI starts draining water from subways at Rajiv Chowk

Contractors and workers were pressed into action after the September 1 downpour left the lanes filled to the brim with water.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has begun cleaning the long-defunct non-motorable transport (NMT) lanes at Rajiv Chowk, removing debris and pumping out rainwater after videos of children swimming in the flooded subways went viral on social media earlier this month.

Workers from NHAI seen cleaning and draining rainwater from the non-motorable transport lanes at Rajiv Chowk on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Contractors and workers were pressed into action after the September 1 downpour left the lanes filled to the brim with water. Officials said the NHAI has engaged a private firm to restore the subways within a fortnight. The agency will repair drains and floors, paint the walls, fix lighting and power supply, and install missing or stolen equipment to make the lanes usable again.

The NMTs have remained shut since July 19, 2021, when an auto-rickshaw driver drowned in one of them. Earlier this year, Gurugram traffic police and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials urged the NHAI to reopen the corridors to ease traffic congestion at the busy intersection.

On Friday, Haryana Industries and commerce minister Rao Narbir Singh inspected the site with officials from NHAI, GMDA, traffic police, and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). Singh directed NHAI to make the lanes functional before the end of September. MCG officials had earlier evicted squatters and cleared belongings from the subways to enable repair work.

HT had reported on August 20 that the ₹800-crore subway network had turned into shelters for homeless people. The September 1 rainfall further exposed the neglect, as children from nearby slums were seen jumping into the submerged lanes, sparking criticism online.

A senior GMDA official, not wishing to be named, said they had verbally asked NHAI to fix the NMTs. “It will ease up their pressure on the busy surface road, and the congestion at the intersection will decrease as two-wheelers and pedestrian movement will become underground through these NMTs,” the official said.

The issue was also raised in the monthly road safety meeting chaired by deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar, after which the district administration directed NHAI to restore the subways. A district official said a private firm was hired by NHAI for upkeep for two years but did not act. “Its agreement period is going to end by October end,” the official said, adding that submersible pumps which were to be installed to drain water during rains were absent.

ACP (traffic) Satyapal Yadav, present during the minister’s inspection, said, “We expect that these subways will be cleaned, repaired and fitted with all the necessary equipment to keep them functional after the minister’s direction. Once started, it will help in resolving the traffic congestion at the chowk on a large scale.”

A senior NHAI official said restoration is underway. “The agency responsible for the upkeep is getting all the repair work. We expect it will be done in a fortnight. Afterwards, district-level officials could take necessary steps for commuters to use them and keep them safe from the wrath of anti-social elements,” he said.