Gurugram residents rue open manholes, sewage overflow

Sanjay Yadav

Gurugram, September 9

Even after the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) awarded tenders worth Rs 20 crore to private agencies to clean and repair sewers, complaints against open manholes and blocked sewers have been steadily rising. Earlier, 50 to 60 complaints used to be registered daily, but the number has now crossed 100.

Campaign on manholes next week

The municipal commissioner here has given instructions to close all uncovered manholes. A campaign will be launched next week in this regard. Radhe Shyam Sharma, Superintending Engineer, MCG

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The situation is such that the officials of the MCG are not able to resolve even 50 per cent of the complaints. Due to the alleged negligence of the MCG officials, the city residents are facing many problems. Two-wheeler riders and auto drivers are particularly badly affected as they are always in the fear of accidents due to open manholes.

The MCG has issued ward-wise tenders for sewer cleaning and repair (O&M) to various private agencies. Contractors have to replace broken manhole covers and clean sewers in the city, but nothing seems to be happening on the ground. There is a problem of sewer blockage and overflow in every ward. More than 500 manholes are also lying open across the city.

The corporation has issued tenders totalling Rs 10 crore for super-sucker machines to clean sewers, apart from tenders to acquire smaller machines, but work in this regard is yet to start.

In Baraf Khana and Om Nagar Colonies, four to five manholes have been lying open or broken for the last 10 days and sewage is overflowing on to the street. Local resident Rajesh Goyal said that due to these broken manholes, three two-wheeler drivers have become victims of accidents at night. The problem has not been resolved even after several complaints to the corporation officials,

“In our colony, a road was dug up to lay sewer lines, but work has not been completed even after a month and a half. Owing to this, people slip on overflowing sewage and suffer falls every other day,” said Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Om Nagar Colony.

Apart from this, manholes are lying open at four places in Bhim Nagar and people are facing problems. In some areas, the locals have themselves covered open manholes with bricks or other alternative materials. Even in the colonies, the sewer lines are about 12 feet deep and keep overflowing due to lack of cleanliness. There are frequent cases of two-wheelers and three-wheelers getting stuck in these manholes.

Manholes are also lying open in Jacobpura, Rajendra Park, Sarai village, Laxmi Garden, Bhimgarh Khedi, Sectors 5, 4, 14 and 23, Gurugram village, Jail Chowk, etc.

To avoid accidents, passersby have placed a broken

chair over an open manhole on the main sewer line at Jail Chowk.