Downpour heaps misery on Noida’s commuters
Several areas of Noida were waterlogged and traffic stuck for hours after Thursday morning’s rain
Normal life in Noida was hit on Thursday as several areas of the city remained waterlogged throughout the day and the Noida authority had to get its staff and machinery to pump out water from some places.
Due to the heavy morning downpour, commuters had a harrowing time reaching their offices as deluged roads led to traffic jams at busy intersections of the city. The worst affected areas were Botanic Garden, Dalit Prerna Sthal, Sector 15-A, Labour Chowk and Sector 50.
Diksha Rao, who works with a media firm in Sector 63, said it took her two hours to reach office from Sector 137.
“I started booking cabs at 8am, but no cab was available. There was a high demand and I managed to get one at 9.15 am. I reached office at 11.15 am. The cab aggregator, Ola, charged Rs400 when the fare usually remains between Rs200 and Rs220,” she said.
Roads leading to Sectors 63, 62 and 16 were also submerged as water showed no signs of receding. These sectors have a huge influx of employees as many IT firms, manufacturing units and corporate offices are based here.
Fed up with the situation, frustrated commuters took to Twitter and social networking sites, criticising the authorities.
Vehicles also moved at a snail’s pace at major entry and exit roads such as Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway, Kalindi Kunj and Delhi-Noida link. Traffic police and Noida authority staff brought in pumps to de-water the submerged roads.
Tarun Hasija (Jonty)Rs @jstjonty wrote “Thanks to #UPgovernment and #delhigoverenment for bringing Goa in #DelhiNCR (sic)”.
The Noida traffic police also started issuing advisories on its official Twitter handle asking people to avoid congested routes.
The Noida Traffic Police’s Twitter handle @noidatrafficpol tweeted: “Film city traffic is stuck due to broken tree at u cut# traffic staff with crane is their for removal (sic).”
Superintendent of police (city) Arun Kumar Singh also took to the Noida link road to regulate traffic himself to ensure the Kanwar Yatris do not face inconvenience.
Meanwhile, outside the metro stations, rickshaw pullers were a lot in demand as people preferred not to walk. To add to that, basements of many residences and business establishments were flooded.
The public relations officer of the Super Specialty Paediatric Hospital And Post Graduate Teaching Institute in Sector 30 said water entered the basement and ground floor of the hospital. “It had an effect on the movement of the patients and the hospital staff. The water did not recede for hours as there was no outlet,” said the PRO.
Traffic inspector Layak Singh said, “Due to water logging, traffic movement slowed down at various places. Police remained vigilant at these areas to ensure a jam doesn’t take place. In peak hours, it is a priority that vehicles don’t get stuck.”
A meteorological department official said that the city recorded the rainfall of 3mm between 4am and 9am and minimum temperature was recorded at 23.9 degree Celsius.
“The problem in Noida will continue till monsoon ends. It shows the preparation level of the Noida authority. Water barely has any place to recede. Drains should have been desilted properly before the onset of monsoon,” said Sugandha Singh of Sector 50.