Hunger strike threat to push for Dwarka Expressway, Kherki Daula toll shift

GURUGRAM: To push for the completion of Dwarka Expressway and shifting of the toll plaza from Kherki Daula, members of the Dwarka Expressway (DXP) Welfare Association plan to go on an indefinite hunger strike from January 10.

While 10 people will start the hunger strike in Sector 84 near Bella Vista apartments, the protest is likely to see participation from residents in the new sectors, Manesar industrial estate and villages like Manesar.

“It is unfortunate that the residents who have spent their lifetime earnings to buy a home in new Gurugram area or across Dwarka Expressway need to sit on a hunger strike in order to be heard,” said Pradip Rahi, general secretary, DXP welfare association.

The Dwarka Expressway project was conceptualised in 2006 and an MoU was signed between the Delhi government and Haryana government in 2007 with a deadline of 2010. However, eight years have passed but the project is still incomplete.

After the BJP government came to power in 2014, it made several promises for early completion of the project. “The state government has failed to complete the project despite multiple assurances and if it is not done before the upcoming elections, it will be stuck another few years after the new government comes in,” said Prakhar Sahay, another member of the association.

It is almost the same state of affairs with the removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza. While the state government has made several promises for its removal, there has been no concrete action on the ground. “Kherki Daula is a daily nuisance for people living in the new sectors and Manesar and no one from the state or the Central government is bothered to resolve the issue,” said Lokesh Sharma, a resident from New Gurugram.