Lack of road maintenance and street lights irk Sushant Lok-I residents

Streetlights in Sushant Lok-1 have been defunct for months, making it difficult to navigate road riddled with potholes

Even after several complaints by the residents of Sushant Lok-I, a posh Gurgaon locality, not much has been done with regard to road maintenance and having more streetlights installed in the sector.

Several blocks of the residential area do not have a single functional streetlight. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The MCG (Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon) was to cater to road maintenance and street lighting in the sector, but the plan continues to remain on paper, the residents alleged.

Last year, the residents of the posh locality moved the MCG against a private developer claiming poor upkeep of installations and lack of basic infrastructure in the colony.

Blaming their woes on Ansals API, the private developer, and Profac Services Private Limited, the maintenance agency hired by it, the residents said that such is sorry state of affairs in Sushant Lok-I area that they had to pool resources to mobilise road repairs.

The District Town & Planning Department (DTPD) recently put all licensed colonies in the city in the care of MCG or HUDA, so that the residents could have their issues addressed by these two agencies. However, the change is yet to reflect on the ground as the private developer continues to hold the reins of Sushant Lok-1.

The majority of residential and commercial areas of Sushant Lok-1 are also sorely inconvenienced owing to lack of enough streetlights. Winters are worse, as the sun sets early and a thick layer of fog shrouds the road making commuting a hazardous proposition. Several blocks of the residential area do not have a single functional streetlight and there has been little or o signs of maintenance by the private developer over the last many years.

Even motorists have to drive through pitch darkness. “What is the purpose of paying maintenance charge if we don’t even have enough streetlights? The roads are in a shambles posing a grave risk for commuters and motorists,” said Sudhir Sachdeva, member, collegium of Sushant Lok Residents’ Welfare Association.

Kunal Lal, a Sushant Lok resident, said, “For someone not aware of the prevailing road condition here, driving through potholes is nothing short of putting his life at risk.”

“The roads are dangerous at nights. With not enough streetlights and the roads riddled with potholes, driving is suicidal,” another resident said.

Following repeated complaints from residents, the MCG commissioner has directed the developer to carry out urgent repairs on some of the main roads.

Despite repeated attempts, Profac couldn’t be reached for comments.

The residents demanded that the MCG take control of their areas and even met, P Raghavendra Rao, principal secretary of the town and country planning department at his Chandigarh office, but to no avail.

Citing lack of clarity over the civic transfer, they claimed poor maintenance of roads and streetlights and no response to complaints. Rao said he had directed the MCG commissioner to hold a meeting with stakeholders to speed up the takeover process, but nothing much came of it.