India, May 4 -- In Gurugram, the shine wears off quickly. Over the past few weeks of reporting, I kept encountering the same issue across neighbourhoods: open drains and uncovered manholes left unattended until a VIP visit forces action. The pattern is consistent enough that residents now anticipate repairs based on official schedules rather than complaints.

The complaints are neither new nor isolated. In DLF Phase 4, residents flagged multiple open manholes on internal roads, some left exposed for days. They told me they had raised the issue several times, but little changed. The danger is not abstract. At night, these openings are barely visible, and for pedestrians and delivery workers, one wrong step can mean serious injury.

In anot...