Fix our road or lose votes, Gurugram residents warn political parties

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, September 1

Over 250 residents of Unitech Residences, Sector 33, staged a ‘No Road, No Vote’ protest on Saturday, threatening to boycott the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. Accusing the authorities and government of turning a blind eye to the builder’s alleged indifference, the residents have been demanding that the builder rebuild the access road to their complex.

The residents claimed that since the government and political leaders seem more interested in keeping the builder happy, they do not deserve the residents’ votes.

‘Can cause fatal accidents’

If our vote can’t even secure basic facilities like a road, why should we bother to cast it? This road serves more than 4,000 residents. It could cause fatal accidents any day as it has multiple large potholes and an uneven layer of concrete that makes it extremely difficult to drive on. — Residents

“The condition of the road is terrible, making it almost impossible to drive to our flats. We have approached Unitech Management to rebuild this 500-m-long road. They assured us it would be done, subject to approval from the Supreme Court of India on the issue of the letter of intent for the tender to complete the pending projects. The tender has since been allocated, but the road repair work has not started yet. We have also approached the local administration and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to build the road, as MCG has been charging property tax from residents since 2014, but MCG has not taken any action. The residents demand that since the road is used by Unitech Residences, Villas, the plotted complex and Housing Board flats, the MCG should either build and maintain it as it is an external road or force Unitech to do so soon,” said Vikram Bishnoi, president of the Residences Apartment Buyers Association.

The residents staged a protest march, highlighting the potholes and warning that if the road is not repaired by the polling day, no resident will cast their vote.

“If our vote can’t even secure basic facilities like a road, why should we bother to cast it? This road serves more than 4,000 residents. It could cause fatal accidents any day as it has multiple large potholes and an uneven layer of concrete that makes it extremely difficult to drive on. Most vehicles avoid these patches and stick to one side of the road, leading to heavy traffic. During the rains, the road gets flooded, making it harder for vehicles to pass,” the residents added.