Eroded roads in the sector
Residents of Sector 44 and Chhalera, a local village in Noida, have been facing the problems of overflowing drains, traffic congestion, broken roads and poor sanitation for quite some time now.
The sector is one of the premier locations in the city. In terms of property value, it is costlier than most other sectors due to its proximity to the main roads and Metro lines. It has the busy Noida-Greater Noida Expressway on one side and Amrapali road on the other. The Botanical Garden Metro station is also in close proximity to the sector. Though the property rates are as high as Rs 1.25 lakh per square metre in the locality, it seems to be falling short of basic amenities, such as the condition of roads, sanitation and streetlights.
“It is sheer negligence on the part of Noida Authority, which has failed to repair the sector roads. The road that passes through the village towards the multistorey residential societies has become a garbage dump for locals. They toss carry bags filled with garbage into the divider on the road. It looks ugly, to put it mildly,” says Ravindra Zutshi, a resident of the sector who commutes on the route every day.
The divider on the sector road has become a makeshift trash dump
He also says there are three to four vacant plots on the roadsides that are so unhygienic that they pose serious health hazards to pedestrians and commuters. The road has also suffered erosion and is often flooded due to overflowing drains.
Sudhir Sood, another resident of the sector, says, “There are many potholes that are dangerous for commuters. The locals have encroached upon the road. The issues were brought to the notice of the officer concerned about a year ago, but the file is biting the dust as Noida Authority’s land department has not forwarded it to the concerned work circle of the Authority.”
There is also the issue of chaotic traffic on the route. Traffic jams, especially in the morning hours when school buses ply on the road, are frequent. Munna Kumar, who lives in the local village, says, “I get stuck in traffic jams while going to my office in Sector 144, Noida.”
“Vehicles are forced to take the wrong side on the road. There is a cut where the village starts, but this should have been 200-300 metres from where it is now to solve traffic issues,” adds Kumar.
It's not just the dividers, roadsides too are littered with garbage
When City Spidey contacted Deepak Kumar, assistant project engineer of Noida Authority, he said he had recently taken charge of the sector and was not aware of the issues.
Mahesh Yadav, Kumar’s junior in the Authority, claimed that the road had been repaired a few months ago but that it got eroded again due to overflowing the drain water. He said that an estimated budget of Rs 2 crore had been sanctioned for constructing a drain line in the sector.
He added that development work could not be started as the model code of conduct was in effect. “Once the assembly election results are declared, we will begin work. The tender has been given to a private contractor and only formalities on paper between the Authority and the contractor is left,” he said.
He also assured that action would be taken against those who had been dumping garbage on the road divider or in the open.
This is what the sector's vacant plots look like
