Drain to be constructed between Subhash Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk

Due to the absence of a master drain, sewage often mixes with the master stormwater line flowing through the two junctions, as well as sectors 33 and 72 A. During heavy rains, this clogs the stormwater drains, further compounding waterlogging issues at Hero Honda Chowk and Subhash Chowk

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will connect the key master sewerage lines at Subhash Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk to mitigate waterlogging and related issues, by providing a drainage outlet, officials said on Thursday.

The GMDA has floated a ₹1.40 crore tender for the project, bids for which will open on September 3. Work is likely to start in mid-September, officials said.

Due to the absence of a master drain, sewage often mixes with the master stormwater line flowing through the two junctions, as well as sectors 33 and 72 A. During heavy rains, this clogs the stormwater drains, further compounding waterlogging issues at Hero Honda Chowk and Subhash Chowk, said officials.

“Tenders for extending the sewerage line have been floated. Work is likely to commence after mid-September, once the rains subside and the skies clear up. In the interim, we are completing all the formalities for the project,” said Pardeep Kumar, chief engineer, GMDA.

This monsoon, areas around Subhash Chowk were among the worst-affected stretches, with the underpass at Hero Honda Chowk being shut on two occasions due to heavy rainwater accumulation.

Such was the extent of waterlogging at Subhash Chowk on several occasions that pedestrians could be seen holding on to one another and forming a human chain to cross the stretch due to rainwater accumulation up to the waist level. Many also carried their children on their shoulders while crossing the stretch.

To fix these issues, GMDA officials said that they will be laying a 600mm wide reinforced cement concrete (RCC) drain with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, as well as constructing manholes along the three-kilometre stretch.

“The entire project is expected to take six months to complete. Due to the Sohna elevated project, several drains were clogged by construction materials that hindered the outlet for rainwater. With the project expected to continue for another two years as well as the need to providing sewerage outlet in general, the existing master drain is being extended between the two junctions,” a senior GMDA official privy to the matter said.