Bilkul Sateek News
Gurugram (Paridhi Dhasmana), 1 September – Gurugram, India’s self-declared “Millennium City,” is living up to its title – only in reverse. The city that flaunts sky-high property prices and glass towers is still tripping over the same old potholes, literally. This monsoon, the roads look less like highways to progress and more like lunar landscapes. And now, it’s not just the common man complaining – high-profile voices are thundering too.
Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, fired a sharp shot on social media: “Rename Golf Course Extension Road to ‘Pothole Extension Road.’ Or better –‘Crater Connection.’” Her sarcasm was dipped in truth. After all, when a city that sells ₹100-crore flats cannot deliver a single motorable stretch of road, satire writes itself.
She didn’t stop there. Calling the Delhi-Gurugram commute during monsoon “horrific,” Gupta reminded the city’s planners that infrastructure isn’t about flashy real-estate brochures but about roads that don’t collapse under the first drizzle. Her message was clear: Build roads first. Then boast about billion-rupee apartments.
The outrage isn’t new. Every monsoon, Gurugram drowns – literally and metaphorically – in waterlogging, traffic nightmares, and crumbling tarmac. Roads from Golf Course Extension to Daulatabad Flyover, Pataudi Road, SPR Road, Basai Road, and countless village connectors all narrate the same sorry story: broken, battered, and barely drivable.
And yet, the government’s response continues to sound like déjà vu. Cabinet Minister Rao Narbir Singh announced that tenders have been floated for the “revival” of 6,000 km of roads, with works beginning September. Urban Local Bodies Minister Vipul Goel went on an inspection spree, promising repairs “immediately after rains” and giving officials 15-20 days to make roads motorable. But Gurugram residents have heard this script before – the promises are freshly paved; the roads are not.
The irony is biting: A city that dreams of becoming India’s global business hub cannot guarantee a smooth 10-minute drive without a tire burst or a spinal jolt. Gurugram doesn’t need another press release, it needs asphalt – lots of it, and laid right. Until then, the “Millennium City” will remain a millennial joke, with its crown jewel road proudly rechristened by citizens as the “Crater Connection.”
