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Residents protest over bad Gurugram Sector 109 road

Gurugram Sector 109 residents protested heavy rainfall-related road issues, demanding action from authorities after years of unfulfilled promises.

Updated on: Sep 9, 2024, 06:18:18 IST
By , Gurugram
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Residents of Gurugram Sector 109 took to the streets amid heavy rainfall on Sunday morning to protest against the deteriorating condition of the 24-metre internal road connecting ATS Tourmaline, Chintels Serenity, Brisk Lumbini, and Sobha Villas residential complexes. The road has for long had deep potholes, is frequently waterlogging, and has broken street lights.

Protesters outside ATS Tourmaline, Chintels Serenity, Brisk Lumbini, and Sobha Villas in Gurugram on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)
Protesters outside ATS Tourmaline, Chintels Serenity, Brisk Lumbini, and Sobha Villas in Gurugram on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Residents have made multiple complaints to the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) over the years but have received only assurances, no action.

Renuka Singh, senior town planner, Gurugram, when asked about the matter said, “The department will get the matter inspected and accordingly will hold a meeting of all concerned stakeholders for expeditious resolution.”

DTCP had in March and July issued written assurances to residents, promising a meeting with all stakeholders to address the road and infrastructure issues. However, no such meeting has been convened.

“Elections come and go but this road has only degraded. What is the use of voting if we can’t even get basic amenities such as a proper road and streetlights?” said Amit Vats, a resident of Chintels Serenity.

The protest saw a large turnout from the societies in Sector 109, and slogans such as “No Road, No Vote” and “Pehle Road, Phir Vote” echoed throughout the area. Protesters expressed their anger at the lack of coordination between government bodies, builders, and authorities responsible for the sector’s infrastructure. “Despite a detailed meeting atDTCP recently, no meeting of stakeholders has been scheduled to execute the repair work,” Vats added.

“The internal roads in Sector 109 are in an abysmal condition and pose serious risks to vehicles and their occupants,” said Manish Grover, a Sobha International City resident. He said that if the government failed to take action soon, residents might boycott the upcoming elections in protest.

“For a decade, we’ve been discussing the 24-metre road policy but nothing has changed. No streetlights, no motorable road, and no drainage system. It seems DTCP isn’t serious about accountability. The situation here hasn’t improved, except for the construction of the Dwarka Expressway,” said Chandan Verma, a Chintels Serenity resident.

Sanjay Agarwal of ATS Tourmaline, who has lived in the area since 2019, said the 500-metre stretch of road has always been full of craters. “Why should we participate in the Haryana elections when our political leadership has failed to deliver even basic civic amenities?” he asked.

NK Sharma, president of the Brisk Lumbini Residents Welfare Association (RWA), urged the administration to take action. “The administration needs to wake up and fix flaws in process or policy without delay. We have been suffering for almost a decade, and we need a permanent solution, not temporary fixes, for streetlights, proper road infrastructure, and drainage,” Sharma said.

  • Leena Dhankhar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Leena Dhankhar

    Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More