Residents of Sector 39 have raised a host of civic concerns, including deteriorating roads, illegal garbage dumping, sanitation issues, encroachments and inadequate monsoon preparedness, saying these problems continue to affect daily life in one of Gurugram’s prominent residential sectors.Locals allege civic failures have turned daily commuting and sanitation into a persistent struggle. (Parveen Kumar/HT)Home to nearly 15,000 families and strategically located near key commercial areas, the sector continues to face infrastructure deficiencies despite repeated complaints to authorities, residents said.Road concernsThe poor condition of roads emerged as one of the most pressing concerns. Residents said several stretches across the sector are riddled with potholes, while others remain incomplete after repair and development works. They said the issue is particularly severe in pockets B and C, where damaged and half-finished roads have made commuting difficult and raised safety concerns.Ravinder Yadav, a resident of Sector 39, said the road connecting the sector to Medanta Hospital is in a severely deteriorated condition, and a 600-700 metre stretch remains incomplete.“We do not have proper access to the main road. The road is in a terrible state, and the 600-700 metre stretch has become a major inconvenience for every resident,” he said.Residents said internal roads that were recarpeted a few years ago are once again in need of urgent repairs.“We have repeatedly raised the issue with both the councillor and officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), but no concrete action has been taken so far. Every time, a new reason is cited for the delay, with the latest being a shortage of bitumen. With the monsoon approaching, we fear the repair work will be pushed back once again,” said Bhagwat Kataria, an RWA member of Sector 39 Pocket B.A junior official at MCG said tenders for several road projects have been approved. “The service road connecting the sector to Medanta will be turned into a model road, and the tender has been allotted,” he said.“First, stormwater drains and sewer lines will be constructed, followed by the development of roads,” he added, noting that tenders for internal roads have also been allotted.“Since there was a shortage of bitumen in the past few months, the work was halted. However, now we have asked contractors to carry the work out for the recarpeting of sector roads,” the official said.Repeated calls and messages from HT to ward councillor Ruchi (single name) elicited no response.Garbage, encroachmentResidents also flagged illegal garbage dumping and poor sanitation. They said one of the worst-affected locations is near the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) office, where waste is frequently dumped.“Illegal dumping of waste near a civic body office has continued unchecked for a long time, yet no effective action has been taken. That, in itself, speaks volumes about the state of waste management. This is not just a Sector 39 issue; the problem of garbage and poor sanitation can be seen across the city,” said Surbhi Joshi, a resident of Sector 39.Yadav said several garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) exist in the sector, with most dumping occurring on vacant plots. He also attributed the issue to irregular road sweeping.Responding to the concerns, Ravinder Yadav, additional commissioner at MCG, said sanitation drives are underway across the city.“Sanitation drives are currently underway across the city, with workers cleaning garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) and green belts, as the focus remains on maintaining overall cleanliness. Two new tenders have also been floated for door-to-door waste collection and road sweeping, which will also help in maintaining sanitation in the city,” he said.Anuj Mehra, assistant sanitation inspector in MCG, said the department would inspect the dumping near the CMO office and clear the waste on priority.Residents further complained about encroachments on footpaths, green belts and vacant spaces.“Encroachment remains a major concern in Gurugram. Despite periodic anti-encroachment drives, the problem persists. Footpaths continue to be occupied by local hawkers and cart vendors, leaving little space for pedestrians,” said Ravinder Yadav.“We are extremely frustrated with the illegal encroachment that is spoiling the condition of our sector. The area has been taken over by such shops, and once these vendors set up stalls, they often leave the surroundings littered, which further adds to sanitation issues,” Kataria added.Monsoon readinessAhead of the monsoon, residents also raised concerns about waterlogging, non-functional rainwater harvesting pits and pending desilting of drains.Kataria alleged that none of the rainwater harvesting pits in the sector have been cleaned for a long time and that some have been covered or altered with ramps.“The sector is prone to waterlogging,” said Ravinder Yadav, adding that inadequate and poorly maintained drainage infrastructure worsens the situation during heavy rainfall.Meanwhile, Priyadeep Soni, junior engineer at MCG, said 20% of the rainwater harvesting pits in Zone 3 have been cleaned, and the work is ongoing. Another junior official said desilting was carried out last year and additional cleaning in areas requiring attention would be undertaken in the coming weeks.