News: GMCBL Asks NHAI to Fix Vatika Chowk Service Roads-20-06-2026
Broken service roads at Vatika Chowk along the Delhi-Gurugram (NH 48) expressway are damaging low-floor city buses, the Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) has told the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) while seeking repairs.
In a letter sent on Friday, GMCBL said suspensions, chassis, tyres and other key components were being hit. Officials added that maintenance costs per bus could climb to Rs 1.5 lakh a year where engines and suspensions suffer sustained damage from scraping against jagged surfaces.
A GMCBL official said the stretch raises the risk of accidents and breakdowns, particularly for low-floor buses with 400mm ground clearance, inconveniencing passengers and straining the concessionaire financially. Officials handling operations and maintenance declined to disclose the extent of damage and losses. Insurance can be claimed only in accident cases, they said, and no major accident has occurred there in recent months.
A senior official at TravelTime, one of two firms operating and maintaining the buses, said surveys with geo-tagged images of bad stretches were submitted to NHAI and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), but no substantial improvement is visible.
Gurugaman App route data shows six to 16 buses use the stretch daily for Iffco Chowk, Manesar police lines and Dhana village. Buses from Dhankot and Pataudi were earlier diverted or curtailed.
A senior NHAI official said converging drainage lines near the three-way intersection cause waterlogging that weakens the pavement, and that bitumen procurement delays slowed repairs. The stretch, revamped a few months ago, will be recarpeted, with urgent repairs likely in the coming weeks.
