GURUGRAM: Dwarka Expressway’s connection with NH-8 was blocked with a steel barrier on Friday, two weeks after a concrete wall at the same spot was brought down on chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s orders.In a major embarrassment for the Haryana government, Delhi-Gurugram expressway (NH-8) concessionaire MCEPL put up as many as 20 steel barricades at the site to divert residents of new sectors to the Kherki Daula toll plaza instead of directly driving on to NH-8.MCEPL officials said they would recover the cost of installation of the barriers (Rs 2.8 lakh) from Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), which had on January 23 razed the wall MCEPL had earlier built there. Its subsequent attempt to install barricades at the site, on January 29, was met with stiff resistance from local residents. MCEPL has a contract with the National Highways Authority of India to collect toll.CEO S Raghuraman said the 2m-tall and 40m-wide barricading covers the entire width of the Dwarka Expressway . “We have spent Rs 2.8 lakh to get the 20 steel barriers made. We will send this bill to HSVP, as they are responsible for demolishing this wall. We constructed the wall at Rs 1.75 lakh in 2016,” he said.Duty magistrate Hitender Sharma, the tehsildar of Gurugram who was present at the time of installation of the barriers, said there was no opposition from local residents this time. “Around 70 police personnel had been deployed at the site and no one resisted the move,” he said.Even though the main access to NH-8 has been blocked, a 20m muddy stretch which passes through an adjacent plot is open, giving commuters access to the service road of the highway. “I have written to the deputy commissioner requesting them to seal this leakage,” said Raghuraman.Furious residents questioned the government’s intention, asking why it did not approach the court for a stay in this case. MCEPL has already got a go-ahead to seal the site from Delhi high court, which it had approached soon after the demolition of the wall. “I fail to understand why the Haryana government didn’t go to court for a stay against the order which the toll operator got to block the site where the wall existed. It’s the same BJP government at the Centre and the state, and both have betrayed us,” said Kirti Singh, a resident of Sector 84.Chandra Shekhar, another resident, said, “It’s sad that no one thinks of new Gurugram residents. Now I have to travel an extra 3-4 km daily and wait at toll queues. Friday has been a black day for new sectors.”Some residents said the impact of this wall coming up again in the form of steel barriers could take a toll on the health of local residents. “Who will be answerable for any delay in case of a medical emergency. There are always long queues at the toll plaza,” said Vivek Paliwar, a resident of Sector 85.The case regarding the wall is under litigation, and it will come up in Delhi high court on February 19. “This matter is crucial for the government as public sentiments cannot be ignored now. These steel barriers must go,” said a state government official.

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