Ward 4 issues: Broken roads, water shortage, garbage, power outages
Residents said that the reason for the large difference between the population and the voter count is that the majority of dwellers are those who are natives of various other districts of Haryana and other states and live there on rent as they work in various manufacturing firms and offices located nearby
Gurugram:
Located near the border with Delhi, Ward 4 of Gurugram is grappling with a range of civic issues over the years which has left residents concerned and demanding an immediate solution to their problems. The ward consists of Sector-21, 22B and Dundahera village which has an estimated population of above two lakhs but the actual number of registered voters are only 33,551.
Residents said that the reason for the large difference between the population and the voter count is that the majority of dwellers are those who are natives of various other districts of Haryana and other states and live there on rent as they work in various manufacturing firms and offices located nearby.
Residents of this ward, which is one of the most densely populated ones of Gurugram, said that damaged and narrow roads along with encroachment on both sides, severe traffic snarls, stray cattle and problems of theft and snatching, water scarcity, clogged drainage systems resulting in water logging, widespread accumulation of garbage and power outages are the major issues of this ward. Authorities have not been able to resolve these issues yet or provide them with basic facilities, they said.
Residents as well as local authorities said that the scenario in the ward has reached such a level that the groundwater has become completely depleted and people are dependent on the water supply from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) which is extremely erratic.
Several women from Dundahera had protested for more than an hour over the water scarcity issue and indicated that they will not vote in the upcoming assembly elections if the public representatives and authorities cannot provide water.
Prakash Lamba, Sector-21 RWA president, said that the most severe issue in Ward 4 is one of potable water supply scarcity. “Earlier we used to face supply issues for two months during peak summers every year but this time, we are continuously facing water supply crisis till date,” he said. Lamba said that an estimated 25,000 people live in the five pockets of the sector which came into existence in 1982.
“Since then, we never had any problem until 2018 when authorities of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram pulled out a 6-inch water pipeline from our 8 inch pipeline to supply water to Mullahera village residents on a temporary basis,” Lamba said.
He said that officials had planned to close this connection and to give those residents a permanent supply connection from the main supply line of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) located near Major Sushil Aima Marg from which they get water.
Dr Pooja Tarar, another resident of the sector and also the cultural secretary of the RWA, said that the sector’s internal and the main sewer system is cleaned by contractors only in a superficial manner which virtually keeps them clogged for the whole year.
“Continuous rainfall causes the sewer water to overflow and accumulate on the road. Besides, there is a massive encroachment on a 28-acre plot amid the sector which is used by scrap dealers for garbage dumping. Garbage even from areas in Delhi is dumped on the plot. We have written to the government authorities multiple times but no one ever took any action,” she said.
Tarar said there have been several fire incidents in the garbage dump. She also added that it has been 40 years since their sector lacked proper entry and exit gates.
“Our access was from the Old Gurugram-Delhi Road but even now, it could not be constructed as two private buildings exist there which need to be demolished by authorities. This situation is such when we have already won the litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2014. We still access the main road through Dundahera which is time consuming and a safety issue too, for years,” she said.
Praveen Yadav, a resident of Dundahera and also the president of Gurgaon Udyog Association, said in their area, potable water supply crisis and encroachments are the major issues. Yadav also said that roads in their area are broken, narrow in comparison to the existing needs and badly encroached by numerous eateries, illegal shops and stalls.
“It results in massive traffic jams as the area connects Delhi via NH-48 as well as from Old Gurugram-Delhi Road. There is not a single day when traffic jams don’t take place in the evening. It takes more than an hour to travel only a couple of kilometres,” he said adding authorities need to construct and repair roads in a proper way while broadening them to make them encroachment free and regulate traffic as they do in the city,” he said.
Residents said that the area is low lying and water accumulates here in case of heavy rain causing several feet of waterlogging and throwing normal life completely out of gear and also causing several traffic jams. Some old residents also said that there was a several feet broad natural drain which connected the area and Delhi which came from the area presently beyond Ambience Mall but it got encroached in the last two decades by illegal construction and it has not been cleared till date.
Bhim Singh Yadav, Sector-22B RWA president, said waterlogging, stray cattle, traffic jam and criminal activities like theft, burglary and snatching are the main issues of their area.
“Due to poor planning by authorities, our sector has multiple entry and exit roads for residents of Mullahera village. We can’t even think of closing that as villagers will start protesting,” Yadav said.
He said that during office timing, it may take almost one to two hours to exit the society and reach the main road as vehicles from several areas enter and exit the sector for short cuts. “In case of medical emergency, a resident will remain trapped in his house for hours during peak morning time,” Yadav said adding they have written multiple times to the Haryana CM, DGP, the Gurugram police commissioner and deputy commissioner to resolve the issue but nothing had happened.
He said that anti-social elements from illegal colonies beside Mullahera and from another settlement in Kapashera, Delhi target their area due to which snatching, thefts and burglary cases keep taking place round the year.
“Earlier, vehicle thefts of residents used to take place on a large scale which stopped after police crackdown but no further action was taken and these petty crimes have been a severe issue for us. These issues need to be resolved,” he added.
Virender Raj Yadav, former councillor of ward number four, said that he is aware about the problems which the residents have been facing specially water crisis and had tried to resolve them.
“However, officials act mechanically and shy away from taking action. For the future, Gurugram will need a canal to supply water to the residents from Sonipat. Large number of water bodies and ponds in Gurugram including two in my ward have been encroached. These need to be freed. Officials and politicians don’t want to free these waterbodies due to several reasons,” he said.