Gurugram cops implement new plan to tackle traffic amid heavy rain

The traffic police on Monday devised a new plan to manage congestion across the city during the monsoon and to ensure timely action by deploying teams at all key points with motors to pump out water before commuters could get stuck, unlike previous years when they would reach these spots after receiving reports of congestion.

Police said that on Monday they had to remove accumulated water from major traffic intersections to allow commuters to pass. They added they had analysed each spot of concern (spots where congestion and water logging is reported each monsoon) by receiving reports regarding water logging in these areas last month and knew how to deal with the traffic situation. In some areas, such as Narsinghpur, Rajiv Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Sikanderpur and Signature Tower, police said they realised they needed more personnel due to the high volume of traffic.

They said they deployed 25 PCR vehicles, 30 individual riders, 20 towing vehicles, five earthmoving machines and 150 police station vehicles at the affected stretches on Monday at 22 spots of concern.

Ravinder Kumar Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said that a team of police officers deployed at the Integrated Command Centre set up by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to monitor feed from CCTV cameras across the city shared realtime data with police teams on the ground to ensure that commuters stranded on waterlogged roads could be rescued and vehicles could be diverted. “We were regularly receiving information regarding most affected routes, following which we would send teams to those areas. We could manage the situation as the volume of traffic was lesser compared to previous years, because the rain began before the peak traffic hour, and we were regularly posting updates on social media so that commuters could plan their travel accordingly,” he said.

Tomar said over 20 cars broke down on different stretches, including the Narsinghpur stretch on NH-8. “Officials were provided with over 200 ropes to pull broken and submerged vehicles out of the water. They ended up using over 50 ropes,” he said.

Officers said the police control room started receiving distress calls from 6.30am., adding they received 103 calls throughout the day regarding water logging, traffic congestion, diversion of routes and requests for towaway help.

To be sure, Gurugram has 6,000 police personnel, 1,500 special police officers (SPOs) and 800 home guards, and on Monday, about 40% of them were engaged in attending to individual calls for help, shifting broken down vehicles and ensuring vehicular movement, authorities said.

“Teams were sharing realtime information on official groups from the ground. The police control room and ICCC ensured proper coordination and helped manage the situation in an effective manner on Monday morning,” said Tomar.

Police said they deployed all senior officers as well as personnel in police lines and other areas from early morning as soon as it became clear that there was going to be heavy rain. Tomar said that all station house officers were asked to reach the most vulnerable spots in their jurisdiction and share the status of the situation through videos and pictures on WhatsApp.