No streetlights, commute in city's office hub a risky affair after dark

GURGAON: A key road linking several offices in Udyog Vihar 3 and 5, where thousands of employees work, to NH-8 and Old Delhi Road is pitch-dark at night. All three civic agencies - GMDA, MCG and HSIIDC - have claimed it is not their responsibility to install streetlights on the busy Shankar Road, which sees heavy traffic daily.
The redevelopment of the 2km road was completed at a cost of Rs 8 crore last year. Poles have already been erected on the road, while the lights are yet to be installed.
GMDA, which built the road, said installation of streetlights does not fall under its scope of work, while HSIIDC (under which upkeep of Udyog Vihar falls) claimed it has already transferred streetlight work to MCG. The corporation, meanwhile, said they are not aware that it is their responsibility.
Commuters said the lack of lighting on this busy road poses a high risk of accidents. Shruti Minocha, who works in an office in Udyog Vihar-3, said it is shocking that the poles have been installed but nobody cares about illuminating the stretch. "Streetlights are a basic requirement for road safety, but there have been no efforts to make this road safe. There is total darkness after sunset and the only source of illumination is from headlights of vehicles or lights installed near offices," she said.
Pedestrians, especially those using public transportation suffer the most as they have to walk through unlit roads feeling completely unsafe, even the cyclists need to take extra caution due to lack of illumination.
Ajay Kumar, who cycles to his workplace in Udyog Vihar-3 daily, said he has to be careful as sometimes vehicles emerge suddenly on the main road from the internal lanes at high speeds "In the absence of streetlights, there is always a risk of accidents," he said.
Not just this road, several stretches in Udyog Vihar 1-5 - both arterial roads and internal lanes of the industrial hub - have either malfunctional streetlights or lights missing from poles, making commuting a risky affair. Avinash Gupta, who works in Udyog Vihar 4 and commutes on Rao Gajraj Singh Marg daily, said: "There is complete darkness after sunset, making it unsafe to travel on foot. There are several potholes and high-speed vehicles whizz by in the dark. Sometimes e-rickshaw can't even spot potholes in time, posing a serious risk of mishaps. Thousands of people are working here, but there are no basic amenities such as streetlights."
Civic agencies, however, passed the buck. "The right of way of this road was transferred to GMDA as per the notification of the state government, and both streetlight work and disposal and collection of garbage across HSIIDC areas has been handed over to MCG. Now, it is their responsibility to install the lights," HSIIDC deputy general manager Arun Garg said.
When contacted, GMDA maintained that the redevelopment work is complete and they have been repeatedly sending reminders to MCG for the installation of lights. "Streetlights across the entire city fall under MCG's jurisdiction and don't come under GMDA's scope of work. We sent reminders to them for the installation of streetlights on this stretch over four months ago and will remind them again," a GMDA official said.
The municipal corporation, however, said if the road was developed by GMDA, installation of lights should be done by them. "But I will get the matter looked into and ascertain if this comes under our purview," a senior MCG official said.