Gurugram a maze without road names, signage

Sometimes the science of way finding could spell the difference between life and death. People looking for the Gurugram Civil Hospital, located in the middle of a triangular stretch between Rajiv Chowk, Sadar Bazar and Mahavir Chowk with no road names and signage, will gladly certify. During an emergency, it is only the luck of the patient and the ingenuity of attendants that ensures a patient reaches the hospital on time.

The problem, however, is commonplace in the Millennium City. There are at least 25 arterial roads in the city that have not been assigned a name or signage, making it difficult for people to navigate through them.

A quick fix devised by the local residents has now ensured that popular landmarks serve as geographic identifiers, such as Genpact Chowk, Bristol Chowk, Old Gurugram-Delhi Road and Golf Course Road.

For instance, the namelessness of the road stretch connecting the city’s most popular entertainment hub, CyberHub, with the nearest Metro station, Sikanderpur, poses problems for the commuters. Residents said that even though it is a popular area, reaching CyberHub is more often than not difficult.

“CyberHub is well known, so it is easy to locate it on the map. But it is extremely difficult to reach if you don’t know the roads,” said 42-year-old Nitin Sirohi, a resident of Sohna Road who has lived in the city for most part of his life.

Officegoers agree that certain roads must be named, at least those where prominent companies, important government
offices,major hospitals, residential townships and malls are located and are frequented by both locals as well as those from outside the city.

“The transformation of Gurugram from a village to a cosmopolitan city can be seen in its state-of-the-art infrastructure and popular culture. Surprisingly, it still remains primitive when it comes to some basic facilities, such as names for all major roads and bylanes,” said 40-year-old Siddharth Gupta, an MNC employee, who shifted to the city six years ago, but still struggles to find destinations.

People visiting the Mini Secretariat—the seat of city administration—and the judicial courts located next to it can be often spotted looking for directions.

Hundreds visit the Mini Secretariat daily for property transactions, getting driving licences issued and a range of official services.

The police commissioner’s office, the Civil Hospital and the forest department’s office are also nearby.

However, the roads have generic names and there is a lack of signage.

Residents of some areas complained that they face problems in getting services delivered to their homes because of lack of signage. These include areas around Sohna Road, Cyber City, Silver Oaks Avenue and MGF Mega City Mall, among others.

“Naming the roads is something that is not ever thought of while planning the city and sector. Ideally, roads should be constructed first and given proper names. Only then should licences be given to developers for constructing townships,” said Nilesh Tandon, president, RWA, Fresco Apartment, Sector 50, an area which is also affected by this predicament.

Shveta Sharma, an IT executive and a resident of Nirvana Country, said stretches of Sohna Road, for example the stretch from Sector 57 to CRPF Academy via Sector 61, and Sector 69 to Sohna Road, should be given separate names.

“Currently, every government building, market, a commercial complex on this road, whether it is in Gurugram, Badshahpur or Sohna—is described as located on the Sohna Road,” Sharma said.

People commuting from Atul Kataria Chowk to Civil Hospital also face difficulties as the stretch has no name.

Dr Brahmdeep Singh Sindhu, a senior psychiatrist at the
Gurgaon Civil Hospital and
president of the North Indian Psychiatrist Society, said patients often face difficulties in reaching the hospital since the road has no name.

“Naming each road is very important. The authorities should take it up on priority,” Sindhu said.

The road between Subhash Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk is also unnamed.

The problem is more acute in the Old Gurugram area, which has evolved rapidly from a small town into an urban nightmare with almost no planning.

Dinesh Vashisht , Sector 5 RWA president, said the administration could adopt generic names to start with and then rename the roads as they become more popular.

The problem is compounded by the fact that Udyog Vihar has not been numbered sequentially. Officegoers said that signage must be put up on both ends of each road as well as major intersections.

The stretch connecting Udyog Vihar to Micromax Moulsari Avenue, a busy junction on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, is difficult to commute as it has no road names or signage and confusion abounds over phases and numbers.

The MG Road, which starts in Delhi and enters Gurugram, has many intersections and roundabouts, which confuses inter-city commuters.

Residents of areas near Mahavir Chowk had put up signboards. But within days, they were all covered with posters.

“The police can file an FIR and take action, but nothing happens. The problem is that the local civic bodies have not been coordinating with one another,” said KS Yadav, former president of the Sector 14 RWA.

Amit Bhatt, director of integrated transport, WRI-India, recommended a uniform signage plan to resolve the issue. “Signages inform residents and visitors in a city on how to get to a certain location in a certain area. They also provide identity, something that cannot be found on online maps or apps. Gurugram, like other Indian cities, needs to look at the science of way finding and plan for it,” Bhatt said.

While the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said it has no role in naming the roads, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) said naming roads is an ongoing process.  

V Umashankar, CEO, GMDA said naming road is the duty of the MCG.

“Naming roads is a political exercise and officers in any organisation will have little role to play in it,” he said.

MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav assured all roads under the jurisdiction of the civic body will soon be assigned names and have proper signage.

Haryana PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh said the GMDA is working on coding the city roads.

“We are working on the project and Sultan Singh, head of the Geographic Information System (GIS) at the GMDA, and a senior scientist at the Haryana Space Applications Centre (Harsac) is coding the roads. Once the work is over, the city roads will have names. People blame me and say that it is my responsibility to fix the names, however, it is not. But I will ensure that the roads are given names during my tenure.”

Delhi has an established body—the Delhi State Naming Authority—that is authorised to name parks, streets, and roads.

In order to name a road or park, a group of persons, such as an association, needs to make a request to the authority. The entity should be registered under the Societies Registration Act. RWAs under the Bhagidari Cell can also send proposals for renaming public articles.

After a preliminary scrutiny, the proposals are sent to the deputy commissioners of the revenue districts and the land owning agencies, who submit their views in 30 days.

The proposals are later scrutinised by a sub-committee after which the naming authority one of the suggested names.

First Published: Aug 20, 2018 04:47 IST