GMDA to repair master drain to solve waterlogging woes of Old Gurugram

The repair work, which will cost the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority around ₹15 crore, is likely to start in December and will be completed before the next monsoon season, said officials

With an aim to solve waterlogging problems of different areas near the Railway Road, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has decided to repair the damaged master stormwater drain at a cost of around ₹15 crore. The repair work is likely to start in December and will be completed before the next monsoon season, said officials.

Once the drain is redeveloped, it will help solve waterlogging problems in Old Gurugram, especially in areas like Hero Honda, Umang Bharadwaj Chowk, Basai, sectors 9, 9A, and 10. (HT Archive)

The officials said that the drain got damaged between Umang Bharadwaj Chowk and Basai Chowk while construction of a flyover at Basai and a railway overbridge at Railway Road.

“The master drain was dismantled during the construction of the flyover and the rail overbridge. Once the drain is redeveloped, it will help solve waterlogging problems in Old Gurugram, especially areas like Hero Honda, Umang Bharadwaj Chowk, Basai, sectors 9, 9A, and 10 till Civil Lines. This monsoon season, we had to deploy additional pumps to drain out water from the surface drain, which was not sufficient compared to the amount of rainfall received,” said Vikram Singh, executive engineer from infrastructure-2 division of GMDA, who is working on the project.

Around 1,530 metres of the drain was damaged during the development works, the officials said, adding the repair work is likely to start by end-November or in December.

During this monsoon, waterlogging was reported from various parts of the city due to heavy rainfall. Some of the worst-affected areas were Narsinghpur-Khandsa stretch, Sohna Road, Sector 9, Sector 10, Gurugram bus depot, CH Baktawar Singh Road, and Rajiv Chowk. The authority had last year identified 20 critical waterlogging points, which included many areas in Old Gurugram, where damage to this stormwater drain was a primary reason for waterlogging.

MD Goel, a resident of Khushboo Apartments in Sector 9A, said, “Areas around our society get waterlogged even if it rains for half an hour. With the repair of this drain, the situation might improve.”