Oldest link to Delhi falling apart

GURGAON: Jagriti Mehta, an IT professional, commutes between her home in the Millennium City and her work place in Dundahera through the old Delhi-Gurgaon road that connects the national capital with Gurgaon. But it takes her nearly an hour to reach her office, which is a 20-minute drive.
"I have my office at Dundahera and it is a struggle to reach on time due to the huge traffic jam, mainly because of the pathetic condition of the road.The situation has worsened after the recent spell of rain and the civic authorities seem to have turned a blind eye to the problem," she says.
Jagriti is not the only one who endures this daily. Hundreds of commuters, particularly those heading towards Dwarka, take the old Delhi-Gurgaon road everyday and they all agree on one thing - the condition of the road is no less than deplorable.
Despite being wide enough, the pothole-ridden road is covered with slush, stones and dust, not only compromising the safety of commuters but also leading to huge traffic snarls on the whole stretch. The situation gets worse near the Dundahera T-point where the traffic from Udyog Vihar merges.
"I have seen many vehicles getting damaged due to the huge potholes on this stretch. Also, the MCG has started laying the median but has not bothered to properly barricade the area and huge stones are strewn on this road. It is very difficult to notice these stones, particularly after dark as the streetlights don't often work here," says Ashok Sharma, a local resident.
In fact, 22 major accidents took place on this road in 2013-14. This grim situation is, however, unlikely to improve anytime soon. It will take at least two to three years before the situation gets better.
According to MCG's chief engineer RK Singla, plans are afoot to modernize this busy road. But, he says, it will take at least a year before the proposal is approved in Chandigarh and it's only after that that work can begin.
"Earlier we had sent an estimate of Rs 55 crore to Chandigarh to strengthen this road. However, we have now revised our plan and are planning to send a proposal of Rs 100 crore to modernize this road," Singla says.
He adds: "We are still in the planning stage and we are likely to send the plan to Chandigarh in one month's time. The plan is to shift all overhead wires underground, have dedicated water supply connection for every individual household and many other things.
"It is likely to take around six to seven months for the approval to come through and after that we will begin the actual work. The architect is still drawing up the final plan. However, in order to provide temporary relief to commuters, we will fill the potholes and repair the median verge."