Open drains, potholes put lives of pedestrians and motorists at risk

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority maintains that they are responsible only for the upkeep of “master drains”. And the passing of the buck continues.

On Friday afternoon, a hatchback fell into an open drain near Anaj Mandi. Later in the evening, following a spell of heavy rain, two people fell off a motorcycle after hitting a pothole in Sector 47, on the service lane parallel to the road that leads to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) office.

The stretch between Sector 10 and Hero Honda Chowk, near the entry gate of Sector 10A, has been rendered virtually impossible for commuters to navigate. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

There are many such other points across the city where open drains and potholes are prevalent and endanger the lives of pedestrians and motorists on a daily basis.

The responsibility for maintaining roads and drains in Gurugram is shared between Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and MCG.

However, the agencies have resorted to passing the buck.

“The responsibility of maintaining roads lies with the GMDA,” Yashpal Yadav, MCG commissioner, said.

However, GMDA officials said they were only responsible for the upkeep of “master drains.”

“These open drains are internal ones that are looked after by MCG. GMDA is only responsible for master drains,” Lalit Arora, superintending engineer, GMDA, said.

During a spot check across the city over the last two days, HT found at least five areas where uncovered drains and manholes pose a threat to commuters and are also in need of urgent repair.

Atul Kataria Chowk

The drains near Atul Kataria Chowk are a safety hazard for those walking along the footpath. Around three to four feet deep, the open drains are hard to discern during heavy rain and in the event of waterlogging, said pedestrians.

Atul Kataria Chowk is also prone to waterlogging, as, during the construction of an underpass, connected to Signature Towers, the drainage lines were inadvertently blocked. This monsoon, commuters had to wade through knee-deep water every time it rained.

Pedestrians said waterlogging makes the poorly lit stretch extremely unsafe at night.

“At night, the area is dark and only those familiar with the stretch are able to avoid the open drain. The situation is even worse when it rains, as even those familiar with the route cannot exactly determine where the open drain is and are at risk of falling inside it,” Pankaj Kumar, resident of Sector 13, said.

Anaj Mandi

An open drain runs parallel to a subway near Anaj Mandi in Sector 37 where the hatchback fell on Friday.

The area is prone to similar accidents, as there is no barrier for stopping vehicles from sliding into the open drain.

The busy market sees a daily footfall of more than 8,000 people, as per MCG officials, and has a subway located in the middle of the market, which leads pedestrians from one end to the other. Commuters are also at risk of falling into this drain after exiting the subway and vehicles travelling down the path are at risk as well.

Regular pedestrians say that it isn’t rare to see people or vehicles falling into the drain.

“I have seen people fall into the open drain near the subway at Anaj Mandi on many occasions and even two wheelers and cars have fallen there. The situation only gets worse during monsoon, as people often can’t see the open drain and fall into it,” Bhore Lal, resident of Rajiv Colony, said.

Vikas Marg

The 2-km stretch in Sector 50 connects commuters travelling between Golf Course Extension Road and San Felipe Marg. While the entire stretch is riddled with potholes, one particular pothole located opposite Unitech Harmony, is two feet wide and three feet deep. Residents say the pothole was the result of incessant rain last month and since then, cars breaking down at the spot has become a common sight. Residents said they approached MCG officials demanding that the pothole be filled with bitumen, but nothing happened.

“The pothole is extremely deep and often, motorists drive right inside it as a result of which vehicles break down. I have visited MCG officials on two occasions and they said they will fix the stretch after monsoon,” Abhishek Dayal, a resident of Nirvana Country, said.

V Umashankar, CEO, GMDA could not be reached for a comment.

Sector 47

A service lane, which takes commuters from Bakhtawar Chowk to Subhash Chowk, and further towards the MCG office, is riddled with potholes.

Two successive potholes, opposite a nursery, are more than three feet wide and are extremely difficult to spot when it rains, as the rain run-off from Badshahpur drain leaves this spot under waist-deep water.

On Friday evening, two men on a motorcycle injured themselves after falling inside a pothole. Motorists and nearby pedestrians came to their aid.

Residents living nearby fear that it is only a matter of time before the pothole results in a serious accident.

“It becomes next to impossible to see the road during the rain, as there is severe waterlogging in the area. In such a situation, pedestrians often fall into open drains and potholes and hurt themselves. Unless authorities undertake immediate measures, there remains a risk of someone being seriously hurt,” Anand Rungta, a resident of Sector 47, said.

Hero Honda Chowk

Hero Honda is one of the busiest junctions in the city, and during monsoon, it gets heavily waterlogged due to Badshahpur drain overflowing.

Huge open drains near Hero Honda Chowk engulf the footpath, and pedestrians remain vulnerable to falling inside it. There are more than two open drains in the vicinity, and pedestrians are troubled by it when they walk on the footpath.

The volume of traffic and pedestrians near Hero Honda Chowk make the situation even more alarming, as it exposes a lot of people to this safety hazard. Since the area is notorious for waterlogging, open drains are difficult to spot during the monsoon, when the problem accentuates.

“Open drains near Hero Honda Chowk are huge. As these are close to each other, the entire stretch becomes dangerous to walk on. These open drains are also breeding grounds for mosquitoes, thereby putting nearby residents at risk of diseases such as malaria and dengue. As the streets here are poorly lit, it is very hard to discern these open drains,” Hari Singh, resident of Sector 10, said.

Road safety experts said that they have had a first hand experience of the problems caused by open drains and potholes, and said that the latter is major cause of concern as it can lead to fatalities.

“The open drains are a major safety hazard and are commonly sighted at footpaths across the city and during rain, they often can’t be seen. I sprained my ankle after slipping near an open drain last week. Potholes are also a cause for concern for residents. Nearly 14,000 people died in India after falling into potholes last year and Haryana ranked third in terms of the number of deaths due to potholes. Because of the lack of basic infrastructure, lives are lost. Even the newly launched buses are not being able to ply as well as they should because of potholes,” Sarika Panda Bhatt, technical adviser of Haryana Vision Zero, a road safety initiative, said.

“The GMDA is the custodian of all major roads and drains in these areas. I will get potholes repaired, if they fall within the MCG’s jurisdiction,” Yashpal Yadav, MCG commissioner, said.