National Highway 148A, in its original form, connects Delhi to Gurgaon through what is known as the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road. It is one of a handful of vital links between the two cities which form part of the National Capital Region. Last year, funds were sanctioned by the National Highway Authority for improvement of the vital stretch between Andheria More near Chhatarpur to the border with Haryana, a distance of less than eight kilometers. Whether these funds were spent, or how, is unknown.

Yet, these eight kilometers remain arguably the most tortuous stretch of any national highway in the country for a road user. Abandoned for all intents by NHAI, ignored by the Delhi Traffic Police and the municipal authorities, and quite beyond the attentions of the local MP and MLA, both long-time political strongmen, now of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, this eight-kilometer stretch sees the most egregious breaches of traffic rules and arguably more instances of wrong-side driving than anywhere else in the world. Concerned residents have complained repeatedly to the authorities but to no avail. The........

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