Gurgaon, today, is one of the most important cities in India. It has been the poster city of real estate boom in India. Gurgaon, also sometimes called the outsourcing capital of India, hosts about 200,000 outsourcing workers, who work for a large number of companies based in Gurgaon. It has the largest number of shopping malls than any other Indian city (sic!) and has possibly seen one of the most significant urban-to-urban population migration in recent times. The city of Gurgaon, two million strong now, has, of late, been facing infrastructure problems, due to the mismatch in private and public (read government) development.
The Year 2008 has been a significant one for Gurgaon. On the last day of this year, let us see do a memory flash back on the year that has been: Gurgaon in 2008.
The year 2008 started on a scandalous note for Gurgaon. The infamous kidney racket, involving a Gurgaon based doctor, who was illegally (allegedly, as he has not been convicted as yet) doing kidney transplants and had, in the process, established a trans-national (I did not say multi-national!) operation. He was arrested and faces trial.
The beginning of this year saw citizen patience in Gurgaon, dwindling, after an ever-degrading and hopeless infrastructure situation.
No water in millenium city
Traditional and non-traditional media glare on the abysmal public services scenario in Gurgaon, over a period of several months, finally resulted in the government taking action to build and repair roads, move garbage dumps next to residential areas as well as take action on increasing policing levels in the city.
Gurgaon hosted, possibly for the first time, a visible(and televised) cricket tournament, with the ICL Edelweisss 20s Challenge matches in Gurgaon.
ICL Tourna being held in Gurgaon; Mithun Chakraborty buys ICL team
Towards the end of the first quarter of 2008, the booming real estate market in Gurgaon began to show signs of realisation. The realty story of Gurgaon, which had been getting stronger and stronger, over the last five years, finally began to see red due to disproportionally high prices, especially in comparison to infrastructure and services.
Gurgaon more expensive than Silicon Valley
Despite a downward looking real estate horizon in Gurgaon, glamour started getting attracted to Gurgaon by April. Actor Sanjay Dutt planned a chic lounge in Gurgaon.
While citizens from Mumbai were converging to Gurgaon, the common folk in Gurgaon were getting more concerned and vocal about basic issues like roads…
Road to Palam Vihar has had this accident hazard for months
April was also the month when Gurgaon.com launched its free classifieds service for the people of Gurgaon.
Was it a coincidence or just time catching up, but the year 2008 saw a spate of killings, most of them involving property dealers. A Delhi cop was shot dead by a property dealer. A realty dealer was shot dead in front of his kids’ school. Another was shot dead in old Gurgaon.
Is Gurgaon becoming the wild west ?
Gurgaon also saw a string of pub related violence in the year 2008.
Gurgaon Pub Violence - cause for concern
While all this was happening, Gurgaon roads continued to be a butt of jokes.
Finally, Gurgaon had had enough. Thirty four resident associations of Gurgaon filed a petition in the Supreme Court to “stop proliferation of commercial complexes and save the city from “complete disaster” as unplanned development had sunk groundwater levels and created a power crisis…”
Relooking at Gurgaon
Believe it or not, May in 2008 also saw a power riot in Gurgaon!
Recipe for …?
Roads continued to get worse, at the same time and strangely, we saw no action from the public service managers in this regard.
Grime, scavengers, pools on roads and dirt in Udyog Vihar
The government, on its part, did announce renewal energy projects for Gurgaon, in order to counter the energy problems but was silent with respect to the roads!
Renewable energy projects for Gurgaon/Haryana
In fact, leopards were more visible in Gurgaon, around this time, than road work or action concerning it.
Gurgaon - leopards & sand storms !!!
But Gurgaon also continued to see urban buzz as well as wild roar (of leopards), in May, with beer gardens being announced for the city, while neighbouring Jaipur went through a series of bomb blasts, casting a shadow on IPL matches in the city.
May 2008 also saw a shocking ‘Urban Vs. Rural’ clash, painfully experienced by the 8000 residents of Gurgaon’s Kendriya Vihar society, who were held hostage by the maintenance workers for many days.
‘Panchayati Raj’ of a different kind in Gurgaon
Water woes came visiting Gurgaon, for the second time in 2008, in May. A new water canal, cater to Gurgaon’s needs, was announced by the government.
By June, the Gurgaon real estate market had commenced on a free fall. Gurgaon police got itself a web site and took some citizen policing initiatives. Despite this, pub violence continued unabatedly in Gurgaon through June.
PUB means Public Ubiquitous Beating in Gurgaon
We completed the first half of 2008 with a lot of noises and gun shots, but nothing much had changed! Carrying our baggage of crime and apathy as well as swank and grime, we stepped into July. One change did happen in June, albeit, a small one. Gurgaon.com started to publish in Hindi ( हिन्दी में ) as well as in English, becoming the only bi-lingual info-journal on Gurgaon.
If we need any more evidence of Indian entrepreneurial mettle, Gurgaon demonstrated it with more than US $4 Billion in IT/ITeS exports in financial year 2007-08. Strangely, though, Gurgaon reinforced another of its reputation, equally strongly - of being a trigger happy city! A youth shot his friend at a petrol pump, while he was trying to shoot a trucker, after a minor altercation! Confusing? That is Gurgaon.
Gurgaon or GunGaon ?
The Gurgaon police moved and announced their plan to install CCTVs all over the city (we haven’t still seen them though).
August in Gurgaon saw a new high in crime against citizens. Despite a Gurgaon police web site, plans to put CCTVs and the right kind of noises, robbers robbed a house, a bank was looted and, of course, pub violence did not miss August either.
Eminent citizens of Gurgaon expressed grave concern over the degrading law and order situation in the city. Amidst all this din, Gurgaon kids seemed to be following the bad examples set by their elders. A gun was found in the school bag of a school kid.
Armed assault robbery in Gurgaon house; residents panicking
Gurgaon crime graph unabated; another bank robbery
Gurgaon’s law and order
Oops! Here it is again - violence in pubs
August this year, saw another contradiction in our lovely city of Gurgaon. One one hand, Gurgaon staked its claim to be a destination for medical outsourcing and on the other hand, we could not even stop the spread of a third world disease like Dengue in Gurgaon. Sick!
Gurgaon - medical tourism/outsourcing too?
Rains bring Dengue
The last month of the third quarter in 2008 brought not much good news with it, either. Realty, all over India and especially in Gurgaon, continued to fall with Gurgaon based real estate giant DLF also facing the heat and having to let 300 employees go.
DLF to let go 300 employees?
The fumes of ill development saw a rise in pollution in Gurgaon due to the large number of generators powering Gurgaon’s shopping malls and residential condos, in the absence of a regular electricity connection from DHBVN. Roads continued to be bad.
Gurgaon’s potholed story
and we even saw sewer floods in HUDA sectors with residents having to wade through sewer water, flowing in front of their homes on a 24×7 basis.
Sewer flood in Sector 21 Gurgaon
Another 24×7 service of Gurgaon, however, continued to be reasonably unaffected by the looming global financial crisis. The outsourcing sector. Thank God for that!
We discovered, though, that tap water in some private colonies of Gurgaon (ever so reputed) was much worse than that being supplied by HUDA!!!
HUDA water better than private colonies’
Neighbouring Delhi faced bomb blasts in September and it set the normal ‘red alerts’ in Gurgaon, among other cities.
September 13 claims 30 so far
Finally, in October, there was some perceptible movement in repairing and building the roads of Gurgaon. Rs. 99 Crore was allotted for the purpose.
HUDA allots road reconstruction tenders
October brought Diwali with it. But October also saw (out)bursts of people’s emotions in addition to bursting crackers. You may want to read what Mr. Avtar Singh, a citizen of Gurgaon, had to say, rather provocatively, though, because he probably echoes the sentiments of many Gurgaon-ites and Indians.
Listen to Mr. Avtar Singh
October also brought with it, another thought process. Anything from a suicide to a crime to the loss of jobs in Gurgaon or the country, started to get attributed to the ‘economic crisis’!!!
Tough times change our opinions more than our lives
The penultimate month of 2008 brought a spate of action with it. Some sad - the Mumbai attacks shook the nation and the world, a Gurgaon techie died in a bizarre incident involving a pastry eating contest
Gurgaon techie dies after eating contest; Family wants to sue
and an equally sad call centre cab accident.
Call center cab mishap
Some gloomy - the realty market kept its southward journey - NREDC advising members to reduce home prices.
National Real Estate Development Council asks members to reduce home prices
Of course, car jacking continued as a growth industry in Gurgaon
Second car jacking / robbery in a fortnight in Gurgaon
but we were pleasantly surprised when HUDA was fined for not complying with the RTI request of an Udyog Vihar entrepreneur
HUDA fined for failing to comply with Right to Information query
and a shopping mall was shut for flouting pollution norms.
Gurgaon shopping mall shut for flouting pollution norms
However, we were not amused when we saw a lackadaisical approach in response to a red alert announcement in Gurgaon.
Gurgaon on high alert? I am afraid, I am not sure
Another concrete step to counter infrastructure problems in Gurgaon was taken - A new water treatment plant was planned for Gurgaon in November.
December saw another citizen victory against administration apathy in Gurgaon, when the stinking unhealthy garbage dump, right next to homes, was moved and a waste management system planned and work started to provision it, away from the city.
Gurgaon garbage woes see light at the end of activism
While Gurgaon was reeling under a downward spiral of property prices, neighbouring Delhi announced a real estate lottery of more than 5100 flats in Delhi (courtesy DDA). Unsurprisingly, when the list of the lucky allottees was published on their web site, it crashed! Gurgaon.com was among a few news sites to publish the list on its site and keep it from crashing.
DDA announces 5100 flats allotment; Web site crashes; See list here
As the year was ending, Gurgaon police busted a car jacking gang, allegedly involved in a series of car jackings in Gurgaon.
Gurgaon car jacking gang busted
As we near the end of a rather eventful 2008, let us pray that we can all bring in a sunnier day, tomorrow, and with it, a brighter year 2009!
Here is wishing all our visitors and citizens of Gurgaon, a VERY HAPPY AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR 2009!!!
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Gurgaon is witnessing some serious crime spurt. A day back, one car jacking gang was busted by the Gurgaon police. It is believed that migrant car jacking gangs from Meerut and Bihar are active in Gurgaon. It took some high profile media limelight for some action by the Gurgaon police, apparently.
Second car jacking / robbery in a fortnight in Gurgaon
“Three fancy cars, a Tavera, an Innova and a Swift were stolen within 24 hours from Gurgaon between Sunday night and noon on Monday. The police claimed to have arrested four persons in the stolen Tavera incident. ” Source Times of India, 8th December 2008.
But overall, the law and order situation seems a bit shaky. It has been reiterated time and again that Gurgaon is getting police reinforcements, CCTV cameras and other security gadgetry as Gurgaon police is inadequately equipped.
Reinforcements are a necessity, it seems. For an ever growing population of Gurgaon, additional resources including manpower and technology are required to control law and order. I am sure the concerned people are taking the required steps, not necessarily limited to additional resources, but as common folk, we feel just a shade bit more insecure than we would want to. After all, car jacking does have a very jungle like and dacoity-like ring to it. No?
A lot of people were shocked to read in the papers that one of the victims actually received a call from his car jackers ‘asking him’ not to press charges, after media reported the case!!!!!
- This content is the copyright of Gurgaon.com. Any reproduction without suitable credits and a working hyperlink to this page will be an infringement of copyright laws. The information and views expressed herein are in no way professional advice nor can be construed as a guidance by anyone or for any reasons. You are suggested to contact a professional in the chosen field of your action, before acting upon any advice provided in this article or on this web site.
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