Residents of CHD Avenue 71 in Sector 71, Gurgaon, have been living in perennial fear in the absence streetlights on the 2-km stretch from Sohna Road to their condominium.
The situation worsens in winters, with the sun setting early.
The condominium, spread across 16 acres in Fazilpur village, houses 861 apartments — with 550 flats occupied since 2014.
Ever since the roads were laid, the area suffered from a lack of sufficient lighting. Even the few streetlights that had been installed were not maintained for the past two years.
Expectedly, incidents of chain snatching and eve-teasing have witnessed a sharp rise in the area.
“Since the roads are not properly lit, the women feel unsafe while returning home after office. There’s no police patrol in the area, and we have never seen a PCR on this dark stretch,” says Barun Jolly, a resident.
CHD Avenue 71, in Sector 71
There’s more.
The roads are badly potholed and in the absence of sufficient lights, motorists and pedestrians find it difficult to negotiate the stretch.
Sanjay Mathur, a resident, complains, “The road is badly damaged. At night, it’s difficult to see the potholes, which are sometimes filled with water. So driving here is risky. I have complained several times, but nothing has been done about it.”
Two years have passed but the builder has still not constructed the roads promised in the master layout. The hapless residents are, therefore, forced to use the village road.
The maids who come from Tikri village to work at the condominium often complain of harassment by the villagers — there were a few incidents of manhandling as well.
The residents took up the matter with the administration, but the situation wasn't addressed.
HUDA officials say they are working on creating infrastructure in New Gurgaon.
“Land is being identified in different sectors to build roads and provide basic utilities — and that’s priority,” points out Yashpal Yadav, HUDA administrator.
Delay in acquisition of land by HUDA is pushing back the construction of internal roads for private residential complexes that have come up in new developing sectors between 58 and 115.
The problem is acute in areas where builders and residents have been forced to take private agricultural land on rent to build approach roads.
