A drive to nowhere on this pock-marked Geeta Colony road

New Delhi: A half-kilometre stretch in east Delhi’s Geeta Colony has remained dug up for over 10 days after a road construction project being carried out by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was allegedly abandoned midway, forcing locals and commuters to perilously navigate mounds of rubble and broken concrete every day and also battle severe dust pollution.

TOI visited the Jheel Khurenja area on Wednesday afternoon and witnessed the scale of disruption. The stretch of Pusta Road outside Maharshi Valmiki College, a govt girls’ school and residential colonies was found broken and unlevelled — full of heaps of stones and construction debris.

A large truck appeared stranded on the pock-marked road, while cars, bicycles and rickshaws struggled to squeeze their way through the narrow and uneven passage left between the truck and the rubble. The result was a bottleneck that slowed traffic and left commuters stuck in a long snarl. The tailback reached a nearby gurudwara and Chacha Nehru Hospital.

Several people were seen dragging their bicycles across chunks of concrete and loose stones in the absence of a proper pathway. Open manholes and exposed drainage pipes dotted the stretch, posing a serious threat to pedestrians and motorists, particularly at night. Residents claimed the area lacks proper street lighting.

“The stretch has been lying in this condition for the past 10 to 15 days. Construction work began and the entire road area was dug up. Then suddenly, work stopped. This is a busy thoroughfare, and if construction was necessary, it should have been wrapped up quickly. It cannot be left like this midway,” said Sekhar, a 47-year-old local shopkeeper.

“There is a hospital, a school and residential colonies nearby. Thousands of people use this road daily. The authorities should be more prompt because this condition may lead to serious accidents,” he added.

Another local, Dilip Sharma, said traffic congestion is severe during morning and evening peak hours. “Many of us use this road because alternative routes are longer. But some vehicles, mostly e-rickshaws, get stuck here. It takes time to remove them, which triggers massive traffic jams,” he said.

A commuter passing through the area said residents support development work, but questioned why such an important road has been left in this shape. “This stretch is connected to the main traffic network of the city and should not have been dug up and abandoned. Work should have been carried out on a priority basis,” the commuter said, requesting anonymity. “At night, it turns even more dangerous because there are no proper streetlights. People on bicycles or two-wheelers can easily lose their balance after hitting broken chunks of concrete,” he added.

Pointing out that traffic pressure is currently lower than usual because of summer vacations, locals feared the situation would significantly worsen once schools reopen, if the work is not resumed and completed by then.

They said a large open patch filled with rubble at a busy intersection near the gurudwara has added to the chaos, with vehicles parked amid the debris and commuters struggling to find space. Residents also alleged that the incomplete roadwork has also increased dust pollution in the densely populated neighbourhood.

“MCD is carrying out the roadwork using the funds of the local MLA. The work will be completed within a week or two,” councillor Sandeep Kapoor told TOI. He said that the road was old and cemented, which is why the process is taking time. “First, the old road has to be broken down and the debris removed before the new one can be constructed,” he said.