Gurgaon dressing up for the 2010 Games

If nothing else, the 2010 Commonwealth Games would take care of the hapless traffic situation in the IT city. If all goes as per plan, wide and beautified roads, Metro connectivity, an extended expressway, and efficient public transport would welcome visitors to the city, which would host shooting events at the upcoming range near at the CRPF camp near Badshahpur village.

The state government, officials said, has already allotted Rs 770 crores to develop infrastructure, and a major part of it is slated to be spent on connectivity and traffic solutions. “An approach road will be required to connect the shooting range to Badshahpur-Kharagpur road.

We are completing land acquisition formalities for that,” said Madhu Pradeep, senior town planner of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

ROADS

According to officials, work has begun on the northern and southern peripheral roads to decongest traffic on NH-8. The 17-km northern periphery road, beginning from Gadhi Harsaru, will connect Gurgaon to Dwarka; the 14-km southern periphery road will start from Badshahpur. “The northern periphery road will also cover the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) proposed by Reliance,” HUDA Administrator G Anupama said.

The eight-lane roads would also have 30 metres of green belt and two service lanes on each side. Once the project is completed, traffic bound for Dwarka and IGI Airport from Gurgaon and Jaipur would have the option of skipping NH-8 and avoid congestion.

HUDA is also coordinating work with other stakeholders for the projects, Anupama said. “Recently, we met officials from the Gurgaon Industries Association,” she said. We invited their member companies to partner HUDA in beautification of all green belts along the roads and city parks.”

She said the civic body had engaged services of a multinational consultancy to prepare a “traffic management plan” that would recommend the size of roads and number of flyovers, underpasses and crossings required for the city. “The agency would suggest a model for Gurgaon’s Mass Rapid Transit System as well,” Anupama said.

METRO

According to the state government, the 14.5-km Metro line between Qutub Minar and Sushant Lok, linking Gurgaon to the Capital, would begin operation by January 2010, before the Games get underway. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials said the stretch would link 10 stations, five each in Delhi and Gurgaon: these include Garden Estate, Sikandarpur, DT City Centre, IFFCO Chowk and Sushant Lok in Gurgaon.

After Qutub Minar, the elevated Metro line would go underground, DMRC officials said. The line would also provide a direct link to Connaught Place and Delhi University, and is estimated to benefit more than 1 lakh commuters.

INFRASTRUCTURE

According to Gurgaon Administrator G Anupama, four bus depots and a 20-acre inter-state bus terminus will soon be built at Panchgaon in Gurgaon. This aside,72 bus shelters will be constructed in the city, state government officials said.

The administration has also proposed setting up seven multi-level parking lots before the Games to make up for the lack of parking space in the city. These parking lots are proposed near the mini secretariat, and in Sectors 10, 43, 47, 48, 52, and the City Centre — all areas that get chock-a-block during rush hour.

“‘We have already floated tenders to construct two parking lots,” Anupama said. “For the other five, tenders will be invited in the first week of October.”

She said these lots would be built on one-and-half-acres each, and each will have a capacity to park more than 1,000 vehicles. “Thousands would visit Gurgaon for the Commonwealth Games and we need to live up to the expectations of the residents as well as the visitors,” Anupama said.

On a bright note, she added that state authorities have issued special instructions to HUDA to complete all major infrastructure projects in time for the Games.

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