Rains, incomplete construction weaken IFFCO chowk underpass

GURUGRAM: If completed on time, it could have proved to be another feather in the cap of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and Haryana government. Contrary to the expectations, a host of challenges is resulting in various problems not only for the government agencies but also for lakhs for commuter at the MG road.

Incomplete construction and the huge amount of rain water inside it after the heavy monsoon showers have resulted in weakening the structure of the underpass. Moreover, fear has been expressed by the engineers how the large amounts of water that is getting stored are weakening the structure.

In an extreme situation, it can also lead to caving in of the built structure. The engineers have submitted their report of the structure getting weakened to the district administration.

The construction of IFFCO chowk underpass has been stopped as the state government has not been able to acquire a part of the land where there is a petrol pump. Even as the government offered an alternate site to the owner, the offer was refused. At present, there is a stay order by the Punjab and Haryana high court that has stopped the construction of the underpass.

On their part, the senior officials of the state government as well as the NHAI officials have expressed hope that the high court will soon be able to resolve the matter and the underpass will soon be completed.

Certain critics have also cited that as the petrol pump belongs to a prominent politician, the government is going soft on the matter.

Besides the legal hurdle of shifting of the petrol pump, the public agencies are also facing challenges in land acqui- sition from other landowners. In these cases, however, the public officials have expressed assurances that the mater will be resolved. The problem that has been felt by the agencies as well as the commuters due to the stalled construction of the underpass has gone beyond the traffic jams at the busy MG road.

On two occasions, the underpass has caved in with just a few millimeters of rain. Once completed, the underpass will provide a reprieve to lakh of commuters who often get traffic blockade at MG road while going towards Delhi and Old Gurugram through the IFFCO chowk.