Gurugram: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated the beautification drive of the Badshahpur drain. To be undertaken by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), the 6.5-kilometre stretch that runs from National Highway-8 to Sohna road will now be beautified by setting up cycle tracks and walkways. The total length of Badshahpur drain is 28 kilometres.
Besides the plan to beautify the drain, the civic body is also tasked with the process of elongating the drain. It is, however, facing a major challenge as human settlements have come up around the area.
In the past, hundreds of drain channels and bunds were created in Gurugram for the proper drainage of water in the Najafgarh drain. Public and private organisations are coming together to preserve these vital channels. The present situation of water logging across different parts of Gurugram highlights that another opportunity may be lost in enhancing the groundwater levels that are falling at an alarming rate. One of the major reasons cited for the scarcity of water is the depletion of ponds and bunds or small water dams.
For a city that used to have ponds and bunds, today most of them are encroached and built up areas. Most of the bunds that have now become extinct were set up during the British times. Those that are surviving continue to remain in a neglected state. Pleas have also been filed at the green courts to prevent the encroachments along drain channels.
While MCG has started a drive this monsoon to clean the water ponds in and around the district, the environmentalists and residents do not seem to be impressed by the work of MCG officials on the ground. After 2016 when the city was flooded as there was no effective space to channel out the water, the public agencies took cognisance of the seriousness of the situation. Many private organisations have also been roped in to enhance such channels. In one such case, a private organisation successfully revived one-kilometre stretch along the Wazirbad bund.