Strategically located by sharing borders with Delhi, the national capital of the country, Rajasthan and UP on different locations, the millennium city has it all what people hail in it for. From skyscraper buildings housing large and reputable MNCs, corporate offices, shopping complexes and more to local markets, high-end golf course clubs, and more, Gurgaon seems to be serving the needs of local as well as inter-state and people from across the world for miscellaneous purposes including employment, business, politics, economy, entertainment, leisure, accommodation, food, luxury, modern infrastructure and more.

Despite that the city offers everything right on a single platter for all types of people, there are some severe issues which it is grappling with. Local transport problem and waterlogging are two of the burgeoning issues that every local and traveller will have to inevitably face while roaming routinely or occasionally in and around the city.

Local transport problem has been disrupting the routine city life for years due to the lack of number and frequency of public transport means including buses, taxis and autos etc. The arrangements from the state and city authorities have proved futile to handle the problem in the absence of proper coordination and concrete action plan, increasing population, traffic congestion and shortage of vehicles among other things.

Barring city buses (which are not available in abundance), the cost of travelling in private auto rickshaws and taxis is high enough to burn a hole in people’s pockets. Though shared autos are cheaper than private ones but their out-of-sync connectivity is more like no connectivity at all for most of the places. There are no direct shared autos from a place to another. People will have to run from pillar to post to catch an auto and travel to and from their offices and homes. Since rickshaws cannot travel long distances in the city, people have to rely on shared and private autos, buses and taxis.

Buses are again not a feasible option as they are not well connected to all the city routes due to the complex transport map. There is not even a single bus that well connects to different routes to serve the transport needs of people. Besides affecting the locals and travellers, the problem has resulted in increased migrations of companies and even people to the bordering cities. The question of tourism does not even arise due to the local transport problem in the city.

This is not just earning the city defame but is also causing the revenues to go down which could have otherwise been utilized for the welfare of the natives, improvements in infrastructure and utilities, betterment of roads and more.

Let alone the transport, waterlogging problem in Gurgaon is another equally burgeoning issue here. Barring heavy downpours even a short and mild spell of rain can turn the millennium city into a seasonal lake through which people have to wade to reach to and from their places. It ain’t easy to do so either as waterlogging turns the entire city into a circus of lights with jampacked vehicles, not moving, or moving from bumper to bumper at a pace that even a snail can beat it.

Traffic congestion is inevitable in the waterlogged city and other related problems are bound to occur because of it. The -Smart City- has till date found no cure and action plan to deal with such grave issues. In the wake of making the city smart and ultra-modern, Gurgaon Renewal Mission, a movement supported by the HUDA administration, civil bodies, corporate, city developers, police commissioner, and more, was launched in 2011.

The movement is aimed at improving the quality of life in the city by overcoming the shortage of power, water, transport means, safety measures, and proper governance; managing waste and introducing more green initiatives, improving gender equality, enhancing safety for public properties, and minimizing environmental loss among other things. Despite that the movement is executing its action plans in full swing, Waterlogging Problem in Gurgaon and local transport problem should be dealt with on the priority basis to help city get rid of unnecessary traffic problems and prevent criminal activities, especially against women from flourishing in the absence of proper transport means.

The author has written on various topics related to social causes like Local Transportation Problem in this article author raises the issue related to traffic congestion in Gurgaon. For more information Visit: – www.gurgaonrenewalmission.in.