News: Monsoon preparations in newer sectors of Gurugram not completed: Residents-13-06-2021
With monsoon approaching, residents of the newer sectors of Gurugram alleged that authorities have failed to undertake adequate preparatory measures and expressed concerns over an open drain, claiming that chemical waste is discharged into it and open defecation takes place in it.
Ashok Malik, the president of United Association of New Gurugram, an umbrella body of 40 housing societies from sectors 77 to Sector 90, said, “We have noticed several times that local vendors of a sewage plant and maintenance staff are discharging slurry waste in this open drain. Recently, residents from slums built in the area during lockdown are also using this open drain for defecation. We have requested authorities to take necessary action to cover the drain and plant trees along its route.”
Under the banner of the United Association of New Gurugram, residents wrote to the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) as well as the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on June 6 regarding problems faced due to open drains in New Gurugram. Residents said that they are mainly facing problems with the drain numbered 3, a stormwater drain that connects to the Badshahpur drain.
The letter states, “The residents of societies and villages from sector 85 to 95 at New Gurugram and falling under the area of Municipal Corporation of Manesar have an open drain which is creating a lot of health hazards. This drain, which flows from the Industrial Area of Manesar to the residential area of New Gurugram carries industrial chemical waste and sewage water from villages and societies along its route. It has a foul smell, releases harmful gases and is a fertile ground for breeding of mosquitoes and flies thus turning into a big health hazard…”
Services such as maintenance of roads, stormwater drains and sewage system in the newer sectors are looked after by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), while the newly formed MCM looks after sanitation, streetlights, waste management and land use records.
Residents also said that not enough measures have been taken to tackle waterlogging.
Praveen Malik, a resident of Sector 92, said, “Work on most of the stormwater drains in this area is incomplete. The stormwater drainage system that is already in place has not been cleaned on time. There has been no preparation done by the MCM for monsoon, be it preparing green belts or making service lanes. For a few societies in our sector, we have built service lanes ourselves through the residents’ welfare association.”
Pradeep Kumar, chief engineer for infrastructure-II division of GMDA, said, “Due to different legal issues, the handover of drainage infrastructure in new sectors from Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to GMDA has not taken place. After meetings with officials concerned, HSVP is now working on completion of all incomplete projects and will hand it over to us after testing. GMDA will manage the infrastructure after the handover.”
In April, the MCM had launched a survey to identify points prone to waterlogging, to prepare the areas under its jurisdiction for monsoon, but officials said work got delayed as resources were shifted towards managing the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. The civic body of Manesar was formed in December last year.
Munish Sharma, the commissioner of MCM, said, “We had conducted meetings with residents’ welfare associations in March and April, but due to Covid-19 second wave, work on the ground got affected. To solve the complaints regarding the open drains, we are looking into the situation and will be resolving it soon. We are conducting meetings with residents on online mode now and have asked them to constantly share videos and locations with us for issues related to waterlogging during monsoon.”
