Stubborn jams force foreign officials to ditch their ride, walk to govt office

Gurgaon: The city's everyday traffic misery spilled into an uncomfortable spotlight on Tuesday when a bus carrying senior bureaucrats from developing countries got trapped in a massive jam outside the mini secretariat, forcing the delegation to step out and walk to the complex. The visitors — chief secretaries, directors and secretary-level officers from Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — were in the city to learn about good governance and public service delivery under a training programme organised by National Centre for Good Governance.Instead, their first lesson was the city's most familiar one — the last few hundred metres can take the longest.
For regular commuters, the gridlock is routine.Residents said the short stretch from Rajiv Chowk to the mini secretariat frequently takes 30-40 minutes during office hours, with vehicles barely moving in a long queue. The approach road is a narrow lane that stays perpetually choked, even though it leads to one of the district's most important administrative hubs.The mini secretariat houses key offices, including those of the deputy commissioner and DCP (west). Next door is the district court, drawing thousands of visitors daily. As a result, the combination of heavy footfall and the lack of organised parking space turns this access to the complex into a daily ordeal."Getting in and out of the complex area is more difficult than getting work done inside the govt office," said Pravin Sharma, a resident of Sector 15. Sharma also alleged poorly planned construction around the premises. According to him, "strange platforms" have come up inside and outside the complex, with no clarity whatsoever on their purpose. "Space that could have been used for parking has been blocked off, and the area remains dirty through the year," he said.Others warned that the congestion is not just an inconvenience but a safety risk. "If there is a fire, a tender won't be able to reach the building so easily," said Sumit Kumar, a resident of Sector 40. He added that even senior officials can find it hard to leave the premises quickly in an emergency.Deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar said the administration will try to find a solution and streamline traffic movement. On what the delegation was briefed about, Kumar said the foreign bureaucrats were informed about the govt's family ID card scheme and its delivery, and Antyodaya Saral portal, which has moved citizen services online. He also said steps were taken to simplify revenue work and reduce corruption by computerising land records.According to the DC, the visitors were also given details on women empowerment initiatives such as ‘Lado Lakshmi Yojana', agricultural measures like ‘Mera Pani, Meri Virasat', social security schemes, expansion of health services, skill development and employment generation for youth, and efforts to strengthen urban infrastructure. The officials, however, left with a happy note.