Ghaziabad: Every burst of rain sends trans-Hindon areas back into the familiar cycle of waterlogged roads, muck and traffic snarls. Residents say the infrastructure upgrade work under the CM Grid scheme and other civic projects have stretched on for so long that they now want a deadline, not another assurance.
Mounds of earth scattered across the Kala Patthar Road
Ashish Kumar, an Indirapuram resident, said a little over 10km of road in the township is being redone under the CM Grid scheme, but work near his apartment, Supertech Icon, remains only half finished months after it began. “It has been going on for months now, but completion of work is still not clear. We fail to understand how much more time they need to complete the work,” he said.After Saturday’s showers, he said, roads and pavements were once again submerged, with mounds of earth scattered across the stretch and a row of uninstalled pipes adding to the mess. “It cannot go on till eternity,” Kumar said while demanding a firm completion date for the ongoing civic work.For Swati Choudhary, another resident, the daily commute to her office or even the market has changed. “There is slush, mud and accumulated water at every 10m of road stretch. I am going out with a shoe cover these days. It looks so embarrassing, but there is no option,” she said.
Mud and puddles at every 10m of road stretch across Indirapuram
The worst-hit patches include the 4km stretch from Saheed Capt Manoj Pandey Marg (Kanawani Puliya) to NH-9, sections of Sucheta Kriplani Road and the road from Kala Patthar to Kaveri Marg, particularly near the STP area, along with the 1.83km stretch back to Saheed Capt Manoj Pandey Marg where trenches dug for laying cables and hastily filled with mud ahead of the monsoon, part of GMC’s so-called preparation drive, have turned into quagmires with the rain.
Road outside ATS Society filled with slush
GMC officials cite a shortage of bitumen for the delay but stop short of committing to a fresh timeline. “The official deadline for completion of CM Grid work is March 2027, but there is no denying that so far overall work has been less than 6%. We are speeding up the work,” a GMC official said, who gave no direct answer when asked if the deadline would hold.
Soil under the footpath along the main road in Indirapuram’s Nyay Khand has washed away following recent rain and waterlogging
Contractors said compensation talks were further along. “We held meetings with GMC officials, which are taking place more regularly these days, and we have been assured that, to compensate for the bitumen shortage and rates, we will be compensated by 30%. Fresh tenders related to road and drain work will be floated within 10 days, with revised rates, and we hope the work will start immediately and we will be in a position to complete it as per the deadline,” GMC contractor Sanjeev Tyagi said. “Earlier, the revised rates were not included, which led to slow progress,” he added.
