Gurgaon, (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
today conducted aerial survey of Gurgaon and took stock of the water-logging
problem which brought traffic to a standstill last week.
Talking to reporters after the survey, he said the problem of water-logging
at Hero Honda Chowk was an old one and the reason behind it was the
shortcomings in planning during construction of National Highway-8.
However, Gurgaon Municipal Corporation, District Administration
and Irrigation Department are studying the causes of water-logging
which resulted in massive traffic jam on July 28.
He also checked the water level of Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains.
Khattar said the Badshahpur drain has been encroached upon and has
not been cleaned properly due to which rain water didn't drain out.
The Chief Minister said it was found during the survey that the
Najafgarh drain was running up to to its full capacity and water
in it was flowing at negligible speed because Delhi Government had
constructed a barrage on Najafgarh drain at village Kankrola while
no such dam exists in Haryana.
Thousands of acres of land along the Najafgarh drain in Haryana
area was still submerged under water, he said.
He said that this was a big problem for which a big scheme had to
be prepared and he would write to the Central Government in this context.
The construction of flyover became another reason for water-logging
at Hero Honda Chowk on NH-8, due to which only three lanes out of
the six-lane of the Highway were operational, he said.
Unprecedented heavy rains further worsened the situation and movement
of traffic was hindered by large number of ‘Kanwariyas’ and airport
taxis, who called off their strike at 3.30 PM that day, aggravated
the situation, he added.
The Chief Minister acknowledged that traffic could have been regulated
in a better manner.