Four-hour rain spell leaves Gurugram waterlogged

A spell of rainfall from around 5.30am till around 9am led to waterlogging at Kanhai Chowk, Ram Chowk in Udyog Vihar, Gold Souk Mall, Bilaspur Chowk, Shyam Chowk Jwala Meel T-point, Mayfield Garden, Galleria Market and Pasco signal

A four-hour spell of around 19mm of rainfall early Tuesday left several main roads and low-lying residential areas inundated. However, the underpasses remained largely unaffected this time.

Waterlogging on a road near Galleria Market. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

A spell of rainfall from around 5.30am till around 9am led to waterlogging at Kanhai Chowk, Ram Chowk in Udyog Vihar, Gold Souk Mall, Bilaspur Chowk, Shyam Chowk Jwala Meel T-point, Mayfield Garden, Galleria Market and Pasco signal. Officials said that the rainwater receded through stormwater drains at most places once the rain stopped.

Officials of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said that underpasses, four of which were shut last Tuesday after heavy rain, were not flooded this time as the amount of rainfall was lower.

From 8.30am on Monday to 8.30am on Tuesday, Gurugram received 18.6mm of rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while trace rainfall, at scattered locations, was recorded between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Tuesday. Trace is an amount of rainfall that is greater than zero but too little to be measured.

“Today (Tuesday), we observed that there was more rain in newer sectors than the older parts of the city, but as the rain was for a short span, the water cleared out within two hours at most places. So, there was no major problem reported. Unlike last week, none of the underpasses was waterlogged this time; there was standing water till the time it rained but the water drained out on its own after it stopped raining,” a senior official of the infrastructure-II division of GMDA said.

Pradeep Kumar, the chief engineer of infrastructure-II division of GMDA, said, “We learnt that there was an issue reported from Suncity area on Tuesday, but this is not because of water from the Aravallis reaching the road and flooding it. It is because the drains in the region have not been connected to the master drain of GMDA by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram. However, as many officials were busy with the chief minister’s visit to the city on Tuesday, we will get it examined to find out what could be the cause.”

Waterlogging was also reported from Sector 29, where chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was present to attend an event. “In Sector 29, around 100-200 metres from where the chief minister was attending the programme, there is a manhole connected to our master sewer line, but it was overflowing on Tuesday as the whole line was carrying excessive water. The situation was managed, but we will check why there was an overflow, whether it was due to lack of cleaning,” said Kumar.

Around 1,000 traffic police personnel were also deployed on roads, but there was no major jam was reported. Around 25-30 cranes and tractors were also deployed at key waterlogging points of Medanta Road, Subhash Chowk and Jwala Meel T-point.

Officials from GMDA said that the Jwala Meel T-point was waterlogged as the master drain was already flowing at full capacity and the level of the road is slightly lower than that of the drain.

Sanjeev Kumar, the assistant commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Initially, waterlogging was reported from six to seven areas in the city, but traffic personnel were deployed at all places on time. Traffic jam was not reported from any part of the city and there was smooth movement mostly. Water had entered an underpass in Subhash Chowk due to slope, but it drained out on its own.”