Hours-long rainstorms lash Delhi-NCR, Gurugram brought to a standstill

IMD said Delhi’s maximum temperature was recorded at 29 degrees Celsius (°C) while the minimum was 23.1°C

With the first monsoon showers lashing Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday night, a portion of the RK Puram market building in south Delhi collapsed early on Sunday morning, around 10.45am, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials said, adding that no injuries were reported.

A waterlogged stretch on National Highway-48 in Gurugram on Sunday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The concrete window shade over five shops fell on the ground at the market complex, which is about 50 years old. The complex is maintained by the MCD, according to traders.

“This could have been a major tragedy if the market was open. The shops were closed as it was a Sunday and there was no crowd since it was raining. A girl who was standing underneath, crossed the road as soon as the first block of concrete fell, and thankfully there was nobody else in the vicinity,” said a shop manager.

An MCD spokesperson, however, said that the building was owned and maintained by the Central Public Works Department. “The fallen portion has been detached for safety and concerned CPWD officials have been informed. Portion of the verandah is also dilapidated for which CPWD has been asked to act under relevant provisions of the DMC Act. MCD only maintains roads and footpaths in the colony, including the market area,” the spokesperson said.

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Meanwhile, Gurugram and surrounding areas were brought to a standstill due to heavy waterlogging in several parts of the city, including major intersections such as Huda City Centre, Hero Honda Chowk, Bilaspur crossing, Narsingpur, Subhash Chowk, and Iffco Chowk. A portion of the road caved in on Sunday in Sector 75A near the cloverleaf interchange at Kherki Daula, which connects with the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) towards Vatika Chowk after continuous rain for over 10 hours. Earlier in May, a portion of a road between Sectors 78 and 79 had also caved in within days after repair. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Gurugram recorded 52mm and Sohna 72mm of rainfall until 8.30am on Sunday. IMD forecast a cloudy sky with a possibility of rain or thunderstorm for the coming week for Gurugram.

IMD said Delhi’s maximum temperature was recorded at 29 degrees Celsius (°C) while the minimum was 23.1°C. The maximum temperature was clocked at 28.4°C in Gurugram, while the minimum was 23.7°C on Sunday.

Gurugram district administration officials said their teams were on the spot to remove access water using pumps and the spots were clear by 12pm, adding that they received calls regarding waterlogging from at least 20 spots including the subway at Hero Honda Chowk. Even though no official data was available from IMD on how much rainfall was recorded in Noida, residents said that most areas received rain through Sunday morning. The maximum temperature was recorded at 27.8°C in Noida, while the minimum was 24.5°C.

Traffic was disrupted on several stretches such as the service lanes of the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, between Khandsa and Kherki Daula toll, Narsinghpur stretch, Sheetla Mata Road, Golf Course Extension Road, and Sector 10 stretch, said Gurugram Traffic Police, adding that personnel were deployed at several spots to drain out water using water pumps.

The traffic officials said that they also filled up more than 100 potholes to prevent accidents on flooded roads. At least 200 police personnel were deployed across the city to manage the waterlogging situation in Gurugram, they said.

Several areas across Delhi reported waterlogging too, after continuous rains through the night. However, with less traffic due to the weekend, authorities were able to pump out water at most places within two hours.

Officials said that Public Works Department (PWD) received 28 complaints with major problem areas being Som Bazaar in Najafgarh, Kanjhawala-Begumpur Road, and Nand Nagri-Sewadham Road.

“We received a total of 24 complaints and most were resolved in two to three hours. The Najafgarh area saw much waterlogging and over five pumps were deployed to drain the water out. We have already deployed mobile pumps at 326 locations that are functional and will be used as required. However, Minto Bridge and Pul Prahladpur faced no waterlogging issues,” said a senior PWD official.

MCD areas where waterlogging was reported included Janakpuri, Firni Road in Mundka, and the road in front of track parking near Timarpur. Additionally, parts of trees fell in Janakpuri, West Janakpuri, Swaroop Nagar, and near Plaza market in Vasundhara Enclave.

“The trees were immediately cleared off the roads as there was not much traffic early on Sunday morning and no congestion was seen. It took a few hours to clear the waterlogged areas,” said an MCD official.

Rain-triggered waterlogging was also reported in areas such as RK Puram, near the Ashram flyover and Loni Road, and on NH48 from Gurugram to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport due to waterlogging near the Rangpuri intersection. The traffic police also helped regulate traffic after two Delhi Transport Corporation buses broke down on the Lothian Road carriageway from Kashmere Gate towards the general post office at Kashmere Gate.

Apart from MCD, officials from all civic agencies including PWD, New Delhi Municipal Council, and Delhi Development Authority said that they are fully prepared for the monsoon.

PWD officials said that two rounds of desilting of drains have been done and their 24-hour waterlogging helpline has been made functional. PWD has a total of 128 pump houses with over 700 pumps, including 563 permanent water pumps. DDA has also said that it has nearly completed the 2.5-km airport drain work covering areas in Dwarka.

MCD officials said that about 90% of their work is complete and the desilting of a few drains remains that will take about a week to be completed. MCD has 700 large drains measuring more than four feet, spanning over 453km that need to be desilted and repaired annually. Additionally, there are 20,884 smaller drains spread over 6,657km.

Waterlogging was also reported from the Sector 12-22 area in Noida, apart from Khoda block, Sector 28 main road underpass, Surajpur Kasna road, Paramount underpass, as well as the incomplete patch of Noida-Greater Noida link road.

Meanwhile, due to heavy rainfall in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s scheduled public gathering on Sunday’s venue had to be shifted from a park in Janakpuri, Ghaziabad to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, according to an official statement from the district administration.