GURUGRAM:
Residents of Block D in
Palam Vihar say they are being forced to take a ‘no entry’ road to enter and leave their locality, as some neighbours have erected gates that have shut them off from the regular gates of the area.
Residents said there are two sections of houses — one for older residents separated from the one for newer residents by a park. “Houses of old-timers are nearer the park, while those of newer residents is along the road. The gates have been here for 8-10 years, but there’s nothing
illegal about that. Older residents have sealed off parts of their areas through which our access routes pass,” said Shobhit Gupta, a resident.
Gupta said 25 other families, who have been living here for the last one and a half years, are now forced to take a separate road which goes from Palam Vyapar Kendra to the Pathak road. “This road is quite constricted because of the ongoing construction work of a foot-over bridge,” he said. “Also, it’s a one way route. If by chance there is an emergency and we need to call an ambulance, it won’t be able to reach us.”
Residents said they had taken up the matter with the Gurugram District Town Planner (DTP) on March 20 and again on April 4, during a court hearing on the matter, when DTP Rajender Sharma confirmed the gates were illegally erected. They also said none of the colonies in Palam Vihar were gated ones. “These are all licensed colonies and none of them is authorised to erect gates, that too permanent ones,” said C M Sharma, another resident.
Sunil Yadav, president of Palam Vihar
resident welfare association, said the DTP alone will be able to comment on the matter.
“The gates have been here for the last 15 years,” he said. When TOI cited the illegality of these gates, he said, “These gates, legal or not, are there to keep out burglars. If a burglary happens, residents will allege the RWA was incompetent. We don’t want to take any sides in this matter, which is between residents.”