It was my first visit to Gurgaon, nay Gurugram, “The Millennium City” by bus. I travelled from Chandigarh by a ‘supposedly’ luxury coach ‘Volvo’ of Haryana Roadways. There is nothing luxurious about the bus any longer except for the air conditioning and the reclining seats. The fleet of Volvo buses introduced more than a decade ago is crying for maintenance. The curtains have disappeared from its windows. The interiors of the bus look shabby. Oh! I am digressing. The focus of the piece is not the upkeep of the luxury buses used by a few but the condition of the bus stand meant for everyone.
As the bus rolled into the inter-state bus in the heart of Gurugram, I wondered if that small, dingy bus stand was of a city that boasts itself to be the millennium city. At about eight-thirty pm, not so late for summers, the dimly lit bus stand looked desolate and scary. As I alighted from the bus and started waiting for my son, an auto-rickshaw with two menacing-looking men perched on the driver’s seat approached me .I felt a strange fear when the men asked me if I needed a ride.
For my return journey, when I reached the Gurugram bus-stand to catch a morning bus, the place was in a total mess. The entire parking area for the buses was flooded. Even though the rain at night was not so heavy, lack of proper drainage had converted the area into a pool of water. As I waded through ankle deep water to board the bus, I saw a huge govt. hoarding of Gurugram’s Dengue-free campaign. What an irony! There was a billboard of Swachch Bharat at the bus stand but no swachchta on the ground- heaps of garbage, dirty and smelly toilets.
The name of the city may have changed, but it shoddy, dirty, unfriendly and unsafe character hasn’t.
(Published on 2 Jan 2019 in Chandigarh Times)
Very true n well described…
Thanks dear.
The writer’s observations have been well phrased in a language of contrasts, e.g. the dingy bus- stand makes a mockery of the millennium city and its splendid billboards of Swachch Bharat and the Dengue free campaign. Surely observations must be evocative! They are a wake up call.
Thanks Praveen . I take your observations as a compliment.
A very constructive observation- things definitely need improvement 👌
Infrastructure is crumbling. Focus must shift from trivia to making real improvements on the ground.
The picture delineated is painfully true and throws light on the false claims of progress and prosperity in the so called millennium city.It suits everyone to raise skyscrapers and construct some dream houses and offices. A fancy picture showing the sky line pasted on every public and government building , some fun rides, parks pubs and party places are enough to feed our sense of pride in the so called ‘growing and developing’ India.Sewerage system,roads and other basic civil amenities do not, in any case, add to the beauty of the picture .So why bother?
We are anyway used to litter and littering .The common man be damned! Buy a fancy car that can smoothly stride over the bumpy roads,go to a sprawling mall,take a chill pill and get back to the comfort of your home and hearth.
No body is listening!
SAD SAD SAD
The independent India of our dreams,where is it?
Glad some one is at least giving words to thoughts that disturb and pain.
Indeed a sad reality!A poor reflection of our development!
Alka, can’t help complimenting you on your command over the language and the flow in writing.
Although I have never set foot on the Gurgaon bus stand the details mentioned in the article can not be far from the truth. Gurugram somehow is a city of contrasts. While some parts of the city are as chic and modern as any where in the world ;the others are appaling enough to arouse emotions of disgust and dismay in a visitor’s heart.The apathetic attitude of authorities is the factor responsible for such conditions. Very well written article as usual Rama. May be some day, such articles may nudge the concerned authorities into much needed action.
Thanks Ranjana ji for the value addition to the article. I always look forward to your expert comments .