In the second phase of the Old Gurugram Metro project, five underpasses will be constructed in the city by the Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL), officials said on Tuesday.

The detailed project report (DPR) of the underpasses will now be prepared by GMRL.

The underpasses are to be built at Sector-3A/4/5 Chowk near Railway Road along Sector-5 junction to Sheetla Mata Road (one-way), Bajghera Road, along Sector-5 (one way) to Krishna Chowk, Rejangla Chowk, Palam Vihar Road to Udyog Vihar to Old Delhi Road, and Palam Vihar Road Junction.

"The estimated cost of construction of all five underpasses is around Rs 350 crore. With their construction, the old city will get relief from traffic jams. At the same time, the flyover at Umang Bhardwaj Chowk is to be constructed by NHAI," an official said.

In a major crackdown against wrong-side driving, the Gurugram Traffic Police have issued 19,146 challans worth Rs 99.42 lakh against traffic violators last month, police said on Saturday.

While revealing data, the traffic police officials said, as per the direction of Commissioner of Police Gurugram, Vikas Arora, the traffic police took necessary action against those driving on the wrong side.

"To ensure traffic rules, the Gurugram traffic police took effective action and fined 19,146 drivers who drive in the wrong direction, which mainly includes places like National Highway-48 near Rajiv Chowk, Gurugram-Faridabad Road, CRPF Chowk towards Sheetla Colony, and Gurugram-Sohna Road," Rajesh Mohan, DCP (Traffic), said.

"To take effective action against those driving on the wrong side, Gurugram Police conducted special campaigns and regularly checked vehicles at various places. During checking, drivers found driving in the wrong direction were challaned as per the Motor Vehicle Act, the DCP added.

A brief but intense spell of rain on Friday morning brought Gurugram to a halt, exposing the hollow claims of pre-monsoon preparedness by the district administration, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), and other civic agencies.

The downpour, which began around 5 a.m. and intensified within 15 minutes, led to severe waterlogging across the city.

Soon, key roads and residential areas were submerged, some under 3-4 feet of water, disrupting both vehicular and pedestrian movement. Trees were uprooted in several areas, causing power outages and adding to the chaos.

Traffic was thrown out of gear during the morning rush hour, with police struggling to manage the flow in knee-deep water. Movement on the Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai highway was also severely affected.

A massive fire broke out in the slums and scrap area of Sector 102 in Gurugram in around 3.30 a.m. on Wednesday, gutting dozens of huts and leaving many residents homeless, fire officials said.

The blaze spread rapidly, reducing several slum dwellings to ashes and destroying the belongings inside.

Fire tenders from Bhim Nagar, Sector 37 (Udyog Vihar), Sector 29, and Pataudi were rushed to the spot. Firefighters managed to contain the fire before it could spread to adjacent settlements.

“There were around 150 huts in the area, of which 40 to 50 were destroyed. About 10 fire tenders were deployed,” said Fire Officer Narender, adding that the fire was brought under control by 7 a.m.

The Gurugram district administration is in action mode to tackle waterlogging problem in the city, officials said on Tuesday.

To take stock of the arrangements made by the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to provide relief to the people, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar visited the critical points of waterlogging and inspected the works related to drainage.

During this, officials of the MCG and GMDA were also present.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday directed officials of the Forest Department to build maximum check dams in hilly terrains to conserve rainwater.

“This will also help retain the groundwater level,” the Chief Minister, reviewing projects of various departments, including the Home, Revenue, Environment, Forest and Wildlife and Transport, related to ‘CM Announcements’.

He will review the remaining departments on April 29, an official statement said. Saini told officials not to compromise on quality at any cost in the construction of check dams. He also directed to check the current condition of all the old check dams and repair them.

Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Vipul Goel visited the waste management plant located at Bandhwari and reviewed the ongoing work in the plant on Saturday.

On this occasion, he also held a meeting with municipal officials and representatives of agencies doing waste management work.

During the meeting, the Minister gave clear instructions to further speed up the garbage disposal work and complete the work within the stipulated time frame.

He said that the state government is fully committed to cleanliness and environmental protection, and any kind of negligence in this direction will not be tolerated.

On this occasion, Gurugram Mayor Rajrani Malhotra, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashok Kumar Garg, Additional Municipal Commissioner Mahavir Prasad, Additional Municipal Commissioner Y.S. Gupta, Joint Commissioner Sumit Kumar, Executive Engineer Nijesh Kumar, and other officials and representatives of agencies were also present.

Haryana Industry and Commerce Minister Rao Narbir Singh said that new dimensions will be given to development works in the Farrukhnagar area in the next five years.

He said that, in view of the geographical location of the area, this area will be the priority of investors in Gurugram in the coming time, which will also create new employment opportunities here.

The minister said that by the year 2029, the population of Farrukhnagar town will reach around three lakh.

"The increasing population also brings problems with it; in such a situation, the government will try to fulfil whatever demands the common people have regarding the development of the area in the coming five years. They will be fulfilled with priority. Also, keeping in mind the increasing population, new development projects will also be dedicated to the area," he said.

The Haryana Right to Service Commission on Friday said it has taken a tough stance on irregularities and biased conduct in the process of verification of wills registered at the estate office in Karnal city.

The commission has found the role of Assistant District Attorney Avtar Singh Saini inconsistent and without accountability.

A commission spokesperson, while giving information, said the investigation regarding the irregularities made it clear that uniformity was not followed in the verification process, and selected applicants were targeted and unnecessarily harassed.

A team of the District Town and Country Planning (DTCP) department conducted a demolition drive in Gurugram's Sohna block, where ten illegal colonies were being developed over an area of around 15 acres, the officials said on Thursday.

The district town planner, along with its team, carried out a demolition drive in the area.

DTCP officials claimed that these colonies were being developed illegally in Alipur, Ghamroj, Bhondsi, and Sehjawas villages without prior permission from the concerned department.

During the drive, three illegal colonies were demolished in Alipur village. It was coming up over eight acres of land. During this, 7 boundary walls, an under-construction house, and a road network were demolished.