Gurugram: Cable laying project causes major problems for the residents

Gurugram: The violation of laws to construct a passage for the optical fibre cable has been in the news from different cities for quite some time now. Such incidents have recently come to light in Gurugram too. Prominent Internet providers have recently started their work in Gurugram for installing Optical fibre cables. In the process of execution of this project, these internet providers have allegedly damaged sewer lines, water pipes and electric wires under the ground. It's been two months since the issue was raised by the residents and the internet service provider are reportedly delaying the restoration, further adding to the problems of residents.

The residents of sector 23-A East Zone Gurugram are facing issues such as lack of water supply, overflowing sewage and powercuts as the optical fibre cable laying project has tampered with their underground services. Residents allege that this damage has been done due to poor planning and because the workers were not provided with maps of the underground piping system.

In conversation with Neeru Yadav, RWA President of Sector 23-A East Zone Gurugram, she says, "Due to the erroneous digging by the workers, our sewage lines, water pipes and roads have been damaged heavily and we are facing water supply issues and overflowing drainage issues due to this. We have been ordering private water tankers for a week now to meet our water requirements. MCG has been of no help."

Adds, Neeru Yadav, "The digging area has been kept unguarded, there are no barricades or traffic cones, which has reportedly caused accidents." Neeru shares that a complaint has been lodged with MCG but no action has been taken till now. Says she, "I have to place the guards or our society at gate number 7 of our sector, where the deep dug-up roads have been left unguarded, leading to several accidents, including an incident where an autorickshaw fell into the dug up area at night. The auto driver was severely injured in the incident. We lodged complaints with MCG about the unguarded areas and they promised to do something about it in two days. However, it's been fifteen days and no restoration work has been done yet."

The residents of sector 23-A also complain about power cuts due to the work of the ongoing cable laying project. Sourav Goyal, a resident of Sector 23-A shares, "We did not get electricity for three days. In those three days, with electricity supply for hardly four hours, it got very difficult to survive."

The residents of Sector 40, Gurugram are facing a similar issue. They suffered from the issue of an overflowing drainage system as a direct result of the digging work carried out by the above-mentioned internet provider. Abhimanyu Yadav, RWA President of Sector 40, Gurugram, Haryana, says, "It's been a month and no restoration work has been done. The workers did get permission from the MCG for the work of the project but the MCG didn't provide any maps for the sewerlines or underground waterline, which led to the destruction of our drainage system."

Overflowing sewer is among the major issues which have emerged after the unchecked digging. Another resident of Sector 40, Ramesh Chandra Dutta, who is also an architect says, "Even after regular complaints, nothing has been done to make things better. They are taking months to restore the roads. Whenever it rains, the cement from the broken roads sweeps into the drain which restricts the flow, resulting in the overflowing sewer".

Padam Bhusan Gupta, who is a principal at a government school and a resident of Sector 40 shares, "I have to spend my money to restore the roads outside my house because we cannot sit for months waiting for official actions".

An MCG official, SDO Hitesh Dahia, says, "The one who should be blamed is the organisation. We have to provide permission for the development of the area but it is the responsibility of the agency which has carried out the digging work to restore the dug-up area in the given tenure. In such cases, we always have to run after the agency concerned to make them complete their work. We are trying our level best to help the residents."