Sewage, encroachment part of life here

Residents of Sector 9-A are forced to live with a stinking sewage treatment plant, encroachments, slums and poorly-maintained parks for the past five years.

Residents of Sector 9-A are forced to live with a stinking sewage treatment plant, encroachments, slums and poorly-maintained parks for the past five years.

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The residents say they have registered complaints with the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) at least nine times but the situation is only worsening by the day.

Continuous leakage from the plant has led to stagnation of untreated water in the area, causing major health risks for the residents.

“We cannot sleep properly due to unbearable stench from the plant. We cannot even sit out in the open in the evening,” said OP Wadhawan, a resident.

The plant is located hardly 50 metre away from the residential colony, which is separated by the Gurgaon-Rewari railway line. Along both sides of the railway track, there is perennial stagnation of untreated sewage water.

Though Huda administrator Praveen Kumar has visited the sector twice in the past two months, residents see no end to their problems.

Last week, the locals also had a discussion with an inspection team sent to the area by the Huda chief.

“We raised all the issues that continue to trouble us for years. Slums, encroachments, poor condition of parks and various other issues were discussed with the Huda-appointed team. It has been a fortnight now, but no action in this matter has been taken yet,” said RK Kaushik, another resident.

“Slum dwellers, including construction labourers, often defecate in the vacant plots. This creates nuisance in the area,” said KD Sharma, a resident.

The sector, which is spread over 100 acres, has many

illegal hutments on vacant plots, which have been earmarked by the development authority for public utility purposes.

“Since our sector is located almost on the outskirts of the city, officials are least bothered about development,” Wadhawan said.

Huda had developed this sector in 1998 with over 600 plots. It has a total of 12 parks but all of them are in a poor state.

“Huda had given us in writing about three years ago that Smriti Vatika park would be developed as a model park. But even plantation has not been done properly yet,” rued another resident.

Residents also complain that the police have failed to stop trespassers in the area, while open manholes at several places pose a threat for pedestrians.

Besides, no government school has come up in the colony even though some plots are earmarked by the Huda.