Gurgaon: Broken stormwater drains pose danger to pedestrians

An Afghani national, returning from a private hospital, fell into a three-foot deep broken stormwater drain in sector 52 on Wednesday

An Afghani national, returning from a private hospital, fell into a three-foot deep broken stormwater drain in sector 52 on Wednesday.

Although passersby immediately pulled him out, it took him a while to regain his bearings. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

He was rescued by a HT photographer who was shooting pictures of the waterlogged stretch. The cyclist, who could not comprehend the warnings from bystanders, fell into the stormwater drain.

Though he was pulled out immediately, the man spent the next ten 10 sitting at the footpath trying to come to his senses. The incident, captured by the HT photographer, has highlighted the condition of stormwater drains, no to mention the potholes and open manholes in several areas of the city.

Although there have been no fatalities in rain-related accidents so far this monsoon, such incidents have become a regular affair with pedestrians often falling into broken drains and injuring themselves.

Two days ago, Nilesh Dayal, a resident of Nirvana Country, was walking home from a super market after purchasing groceries in the downpour. He did not notice a broken drain and fell face first.

“I was fortunate to have fallen on the ground, instead of on the road or the footpath. Since the soil was soft, I escaped with minor bruises. Despite paying maintenance charges and taxes, I fail to understand why even basic civic measures cannot be put in place,” Nilesh said.

Broken drains can be spotted along the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road along the ‘Mall Mile”, South City 2, Kanhai village, Palam Vihar and Sushant Lok Phase-1.

“We fix broken drains as soon as residents notify us about the same. During the monsoon, we are engaged in cleaning drains to ensure waterlogging does not take place. Hence, we need the residents’ support to point out such issues,” a senior MCG official said.

The MCG official further stated that they had to leave the work of concreting drains midway following an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last year and, hence, have not been able to plug the holes.

The NGT order came after activists moved a plea alleging that many of Gurgaon’s natural stormwater drains are missing and possibly filled up, to build commercial and residential complexes, and to create more parking space.