India, July 26 -- A civic and humanitarian crisis is quietly unfolding in Gurugram.

In its upscale apartments and gated colonies, the signs are everywhere - uncollected garbage, stinking corridors, and families scrambling to manage chores. Over the past week, hundreds of sanitation workers, domestic helps, and daily wagers - many of them migrants from West Bengal and Assam - have left the city amid a police verification drive targeting alleged illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

What began as a law enforcement exercise has spiralled into a civic rupture, exposing how deeply Gurugram's daily rhythms rely on an invisible workforce now fleeing the city.

Fearful of harassment and arbitrary detention, many have packed up overnight and left,...