Death stalks highway in Gurgaon
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Nov 10 — If Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee feels it is difficult to tell roads from potholes in Bihar, a visit to Gurgaon on the outskirts of the Capital could evoke the Prime Minister to say: "There is little difference between hell and the roads in Gurgaon".

It is a daily battle for life for the residents on either side of the national highway cutting through Gurgaon as the speeding traffic, lack of traffic signals and the police make it a nightmarish experience to cross the road.

The pitiable condition of the roads is in direct contrast to the numerous reports one reads about big multinational houses shifting base to Gurgaon. Only yesterday DuPont advertised that they were shifting all their offices in the Capital to DLF Enclave.

However, the condition of roads in Gurgaon is in sharp contrast to the theme of globalisation in Haryana. Improving the condition of the roads — considered to be quintessence of modernisation and a sure index of fast growth of any habitat — appears to be low on the priority list of the authorities, including the National Highway Authority of India. Road upkeep appears to be a victim of a conflict between different government departments.

A case in point is National Highway No 8 — the Delhi-Jaipur road — which cuts through the city. It is a dismal case of neglect by the authorities. Right from the Delhi-Gurgaon border, there are more than a dozen crossings and intersections which witness road accidents every day. The accidents have increased recently with the increase in traffic load on the highway. The first major crossing, from the Delhi side, Udyog Vihar (Shankar Chowk), often presents a gory site of mangled vehicles and traffic jams.

For the employees working in a large number of industrial units in the complex built by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) on the one side and the residents of the prestigious housing enclave, the National Media Centre, on the other side, crossing the road is a daily torture. Thousands of employees work in various firms in this industrial estate, and more than 180 families live in the housing enclave. The house owners in the National Media Centre are virtually who’s who of the country from all walks of life. The list includes the first citizen of the country, President K.R. Narayanan.

Some of the employees working in the industrial estate told TNS that they were virtually living under the shadow of death as the probability of their getting hit by vehicles travelling at high speed from both sides of the road was very high. According to them, they wait for long hours to cross the road. Of late the number of accidents had increased.

The President of the National Media Centre Cooperative House Building Society Ltd, Mr K. Gopal Krishnan, said sending children to school from the housing complex needed a lot of courage in the given situation. Prof T.N. Bali, Vice-President of the society, said the residents had taken up the issue with the Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, to post police personnel to man the crossing till a traffic light was set up, but it was of no avail. The police authorities have maintained that they were unable to oblige on account of shortage of police personnel. Although the Haryana government has sanctioned two police stations for Gurgaon, including one for Udyog Vihar, there seems to be no relief to the people.The people of the area have also taken up the issue with various other authorities.

Similar kinds of problems and threats to lives are faced by the residents in colonies and sectors on both sides of Highway at other crossings and T-Points. A resident of Jharsa village was recently killed by a speeding vehicle at the nearby crossing leading to agitation by the people of the area. The authorities had to intervene to pacify the agitationists with the assurance of remedial measures against occurrence of such accident. Subsequently, on and off, a couple of men in uniform were seen near the crossing. A resident of the adjoining Sector 15, on condition of anonymity, said these police personnel were hardly active. After evening they were mainly seen busy stopping vehicles, checking their documents, and reportedly harassing innocent commuters.

Enquiries reveal that there is confusion among the district administration and the national highway authorities on the responsibility of installing traffic lights at the crossings. A Deputy General Manager of the National Highway Authority, Mr B.R.Salwan, categorically said the state government was responsible for the maintenance of the stretch of the road falling in Gurgaon district. The officials of the state Government do not agree with this view. However, there are many who feel that the onus lies on the state government as it was responsible for sanctioning sectors and providing housing enclaves on either side of the national highway.

According to observers, although the Haryana government has taken the initiative in carrying out repair of some of the roads in the cities, the overall road condition is pathetic. There was no road which was not plagued with a problem. Either the roads were not in proper shape, or there were encroachments. Besides, unregulated movement of the vehicles has encouraged "jungle raj" syndrome on the roads. Accidents and the resulting skirmishes, traffic jam and rash driving were now a familiar sight.