Residents of Sector 40 in Gurgaon stage protest, demand repair of roads

Residents complain they were forced to travel on roads with potholes

Residents of Sector 40, one of the oldest residential areas of Gurgaon, on Saturday staged a demonstration to draw attention of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) towards the crumbling roads.

A road in a pathetic condition in Sector 40, Gurgaon, on Saturday. (Sanchit Khanna/ HT Photo)

More than 100 residents gathered at Sector 40 market around 9 am and held the protest till 5 pm.

Residents alleged that as they were forced to travel on the pothole-riddled roads, and three women suffered miscarriages in last six months.

“Recently one of the residents fell off from her scooter and her pregnancy was aborted. This is a serious issue and authorities should wake up and take prompt action,” said Bhupinder Yadav, a resident.

The sector was developed in 1995, but broken roads have been a perennial problem for the residents numbered around 8,000. The protestors said the civic authorities have not built proper roads in the residential area even 20 years after its development.

Further, there is a sewerage overflow in the sector and the authorities have turned a blind eye to their complaints, residents said.

“People have started living here from 1995 and initially, we thought the area will be developed and roads will be constructed. Now, it has been two decades and how long should we wait?” Narender Chillar, a social activist and resident of the sector, said.

Residents complained that the authorities neglected not just the internal roads, but the main roads too.

“Potholes started appearing on the roads over five years ago. Since then, there has been no repair work done. With each passing monsoon, the condition of the roads has gone from bad to worse,” said Ram Krishan, president of the residents’ welfare association.

“Driving a two-wheeler on the sector road is very difficult. One has to keep avoiding the potholes. We have to drive slowly as the cars have been damaged in the past,” said Tasveer Dhaiya, another resident.

According to officials of the MCG, construction of roads would begin after February 15.

“The repair work will start on February 15. The work has been allotted and we were already working on the issue but because of the transfer of the sector, it got delayed,” said YS Gupta, joint commissioner, MCG.

.