Gurugram residents struggles for the basic amenities

GURUGRAM: The Millennium City is still far from the ideal living space that it had once promised to be. Even as Gurgaon strives to be a ‘smart city’, its residents are still struggling for the most basic of amenities, something that this series has been repeatedly bringing out.

On Sunday, in the latest ‘Times Society Connect’ interaction, a TOI team met with the RWA of

Vaastu Apartments

, as well as residents from Surya Apartments, Huda CGHS GH1 and Adarsh Apartments, in Sector 55. Their problems ranged from

waterlogging

in the society due to bad civic planning to dysfunctional streetlights and lack of security.

“The road level is such that all the water from recent rains is now stagnating inside the society. To make the situation worse, the sewer is overflowing and adding to waterlogging. MCG has installed a water pump and built a sump well to drain out the water. But we need a permanent solution,” said S K Mehta, resident of Huda CGHS GH1, and a former Food Corporation of India employee.

The area is deprived of even the most basic facilities which a residential neighbourhood should expect.

So much so that residents feel Sector 55 is a poor cousin of the better developed Sector 56. Neeraj Anand, president of the Surya Apartments RWA, revealed that the society does, conveniently, have its own maintenance systems. “The main issue is that Sector 55 doesn’t have any basic facilities like market, dispensary or schools. For 15 years, we have been going to Sector 56 for all these needs,” he said.

Anand also spoke about the dirty roads here, which are only cleaned when residents raise a demand for the same. “We don’t want to call our councilor every time the roads around need cleaning – we wish there was a fixed schedule for it.”

Residents had pinned their hopes on the Rapid Metro station for sector 55-56, believing it will help develop the area. However, the station itself has become a nuisance. According to Manish Singh, a resident of Vaastu Apartments, shared autos have encroached on the approach road. “Street food vendors have taken up rest of the space. This means only one car can cross at a time, leading to regular congestion,” complained Singh, an IT executive.

The situation is no better in Adarsh Apartments. Neeraj Luthra, a finance professional, said that autos don’t come up to the society due to battered roads and lack of streetlights. “There are no streetlights and the whole area seems scary after sundown. Sometimes, we have even averted hitting a cow or a person in the dark,” said Luthra.

Sadly, women continue to be more vulnerable. Abhilasha Anand says there have been cases of snatching in the bylanes. “Safety outside the society is a major issues. In Ghata village, in our neighbourhood, where maids and labourers live, landlords don’t verify their tenants. Even the security guards are afraid. They refused to accompany me when I wanted to bring my daughter back from dance class,” the homemaker said.

Further, something as basic as a playground for kids is being neglected. “The HUDA park is ill maintained. The gardeners don’t show up and there are weeds everywhere. It has become an ‘adda’ for anti-social elements to drink alcohol in the evening. We cannot send our children to play there,” said Monika Dhir, a resident of Vaastu Apartments.

“We cannot let our children play with gadgets indoor always. So we are forced to enrol them at the academies and at least one parent is stuck with their timetable. Plus, it is an additional expense for us,” Dhir added.