Gurgaon: A service road near Sector 18, where GMDA is laying a storm drain, has open pits with no barricading, with excavated soil lying piled up along it. No signage warns motorists of the excavation ahead. Even as a curb on construction has been imposed to rein in air pollution, the drainage project site has turned into a pollution hotspot and a safety hazard for those who use the road every day.The road is no minor link as it hosts several institutional complexes, including IIPM, Institute of Food Security and LINAC-NCDC, among others, so staffers, students and visitors pass through the affected stretch daily. GMDA is building the 2.1km drainage network at a cost of around Rs 3.6 crore to address the perennial waterlogging in DLF-2. A 1,200-mm-diameter pipeline will carry rainwater from the DLF-2 area and connect it with the existing master drainage system. The network will be linked to Leg-1 near Cyber City and Leg-2 near Sectors 17-18, providing a larger outlet for stormwater collected in the area.With the authority solving a civic problem in one area, another has been created as there is no dust mitigation at the site while each passing vehicle kicks up clouds of dust, leaving commuters to navigate cautiously around the dug-up section. The risk rises after dark as the stretch lacks proper illumination at night, which increases the chance of accidents. Half of the two-lane service road is occupied by construction, squeezing traffic into the remaining width.“Driving here at night is very difficult. The stretch turned pitch dark and full of dust. You can’t see the dug-up pit at all and you have to squeeze through a limited portion to get past it. There isn’t a single sign to warn you either,” said Harish Dagar, one of the commuters. said SK Sharma, another commuter, told TOI, “Days are getting shorter and it becomes darker than earlier. It is difficult to walk on this stretch till the main road to catch public transport. The timing of this work is really bad as there is so much all over the area.”Asked about the lapses, a GMDA official said the agency has been directed to fix it. “We have written to the agency and directed them to put up barricades and ensure water sprinkling at the site. If there is any shortcoming, then I will look into it and I will get it done,” the official said.The project was allotted in July this year, but work could not be taken up during the monsoon. It began in Sept, with a deadline set for Feb 2027, which means commuters could face the disruption for months unless safety and dust-control measures are put in place. “RCC pipes are being laid to carry stormwater. Water used to accumulate on the DLF-2 side, and once the work is completed, it will be taken through a culvert and connected to the Sector 18 drain,” the official said.
