Broken footbridge escalators leave NH8 commuters stranded, put lives at risk in Gurgaon

Gurgaon: Rajbir Kaur (62) stands hesitantly at the edge of NH8 near IFFCO Chowk, clutching her bag and waiting for a break in the continuous traffic. A foot overbridge is located just a few metres away, yet it's an option she would rather avoid.
The FOBs' escalators — near IFFCO Chowk and elsewhere along NH8 — have been non-functional for a long time, forcing commuters like her to either climb steep stairs or risk darting across six lanes of speeding vehicles. There are around 30 escalators installed at various footbridges across Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

For over two years, critical facilities such as FOBs and subways along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway have fallen into disrepair. Despite repeated complaints, little has been done to restore these essential services to provide safe passage to pedestrians. The maintenance of this critical infrastructure has been caught in a bureaucratic tug-of-war.
Rajbir is among thousands who are forced to navigate broken pedestrian infrastructure every day. "It's not like I can't walk, but going up and down is difficult at my age," Rajbir said. "Senior citizens like me could at least use the escalator, but it is not working. They built these bridges saying they were for our safety, but now they have left them to rot," she said. NHAI, which constructed the pedestrian infrastructure, maintains that these structures were designed for local traffic and wants GMDA to assume maintenance.
Last year, NHAI took up the matter with the Haryana chief secretary, asking for GMDA to take over the upkeep. GMDA, however, has refused to accept responsibility, citing that these structures fall on the national highway. Last month, the GMDA wrote to NHAI, urging urgent repairs, citing safety concerns and mounting public complaints.
According to NHAI, a contract was awarded in Jan this year to repair the 30 escalators installed at various footbridges across Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. "The equipment of the escaltors is being procured, which took time," the official said.
The NHAI official said, "Six escalators have been repaired so far. Our target is to fix all of them by June 30."
According to GMDA, most FOBs remain underutilised due to poor maintenance and, in some cases, encroachments. "They were meant to provide safe passage across a high-speed corridor. Instead, they now pose a hazard," the official said.
At several locations, the situation is visibly deteriorating. At IFFCO Chowk, not only are the escalators non-functional, but parts of the roof shade over the bridge are missing. At Narsingpur, pedestrians are forced to dodge broken and exposed metal in the walkway passage. Escalators at Rajiv Chowk and Signature Tower share the same fate.
"When the escalators don't work, elderly people and women carrying children have no choice but to struggle with the stairs. It's unsafe. Since there is a huge footfall at IFFCO Chowk, authorities should not adopt a callous attitude. Even the FOB at Signature Tower has been rendered useless," Narayan Agrawal, a resident of Sector 17 C, said.