Gurugram drowns in deluge

High intensity rain in Gurugram caused widespread waterlogging, affecting traffic movement on key stretches, including National Highway-48. Commuters faced long delays and public transport was disrupted. Several areas were submerged, leading to concerns for residents. The heavy rainfall is expected to continue throughout the week. Authorities have deployed teams to remove excess water and address the situation. Efforts are being made to improve drainage and pumping capacity to prevent future waterlogging incidents.

High intensity rain that lashed Gurugram on Tuesday led to widespread waterlogging, affecting traffic movement on several key stretches, including National Highway-48, and washing away the civic agencies’ tall claims about monsoon preparedness this year.

Dark monsoon clouds over Rajiv Chowk in Gurugram on Monday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Police, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) teams were present at key areas to remove excess water using pumps to help ease out traffic movement but commuters were stuck on major intersections for more than 40 minutes.

In sectors 38 and 48, people were seen taking out boats through waterlogged streets.

The heavy waterlogging also crippled public transport as people were not able to avail of app-based cabs for at least two hours from 2pm to 4pm.

Mohinder Srivastava, a daily commuter from Sohna Road to Sant Nagar in Delhi, said, that it took two hours to get a cab and he was stuck for another two hours at the border. “I managed to get a cab at 6pm. I reached home around 8.30pm. The cab ride cost me ₹1,200, though the fare usually is between ₹550-600,” he said.

School buses were delayed by hours, forcing worried parents to stay put on waterlogged streets.

“My son’s bus was stranded on Golf Course Extension Road. Usually, it reaches our gate around 3.15pm but on Tuesday, it reached only by 4.30pm. We were worried and kept calling the bus conductor. Some school buses got submerged in water and videos circulating on social media made us panic,” said Ritu Gupta, a resident of Orchid Petal in Sector 48.

Sameer Khurana, a resident of Sector 57, said after waiting for 40 minutes for the bus to arrive, they left to get their daughter from a private school that was hardly five kilometres away. “I collected my daughter from Golf Course Road as the bus had not moved an inch in 25 minutes,” he said.

Key areas that went under water on Tuesday included Golf Course Road, Golf Course Extension Road, Vatika Chowk, Kherki Daula, Iffco Chowk, Sector 10, Sector 51, Hero Honda Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Sheetla Mata Road in Sector 5, Basai Road, and Narsingpur stretch of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

Residents of Sector 10A, Sector 7, Pataudi Road, Sector 48, Sector 45, Sector 15, Sector 38 said waterlogging in the area left them marooned, as their basements and courtyards were completely inundated. “There was knee-deep water in Sector 38 and several vehicles broke down on the main stretch leading to traffic congestion,” said Rajender Rao, resident of Sector 38.

In Sector 45 and Sushant Lok -1, the water was waist-high. “At least six vehicles broke down and there was no way to exit the sector. It took more than an hour to clear the route,” said Vandana Nehra.

According to the district administration, Gurugram received 65mmrainfall till 4.30pm on Tuesday. District officials said the rain will likely continue till Sunday. On Tuesday, Gurugram’s maximum temperature was 37.1°C while the minimum was 28.9 °C, officials said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 39mm of rainfall in Gurugram on Tuesday and said thunderstorm and rain were likely in Gurugram and neighbouring area throughout the week.

GMDA executive engineer Vikram Singh said there was extremely heavy rainfall on Tuesday and that too within a short span of time. “Subhash Chowk, Narsingpur service lane, Hero Honda Chowk, Udyog Vihar (from Shankar chowk to Dundahera), Mayfield Garden in Sector 51 were among the areas from where waterlogging was reported. In a few areas, water started receding quickly. Pumping machinery and manpower were deployed at several locations to address waterlogging and facilitate traffic movement,” he said.

Kachcha naalas or non-concreted drains, are being made along Southern Peripheral Road to channel stormwater into the Kost naala from Ghata to Vatika Chowk, to prevent flooding on the main carriageway, he said.

MCG officials were also present at affected spots and were seen removing water from areas near Good Earth Mall in Sector 48, Sector 51, Jharsa , Vatika Chowk, and Sector 57.

Roads leading to CyberHub, Cyber City, Sohna Road, Udyog Vihar and Hero Honda Chowk were submerged. These sectors have a huge influx of employees as many IT firms, manufacturing units and corporate offices are located there.

Kirat Chadha, a daily commuter from Delhi’s Uttam Nagar to Udyog Vihar, said that it took more than two hours to get out of the area and reach NH-48. “All stretches were jammed in Udyog Vihar and people were driving on the wrong side in their hurry to exit the sector. Vehicles broke down and even cranes could not enter the area to tow them away,” she said.

Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gurugram, said snarls were reported from the Gurugram-Delhi carriageway of NH-48. “The traffic movement was slow on all stretches and policemen were deployed at all major intersections. Teams managed traffic on Sohna Road, NH-48, Golf Course Extension Road, Sohna Road, Southern Peripheral Road and near Kapashera,” he said.

GMDA officials said that various works and measures to mitigate waterlogging during monsoon have been taken and more are under way. “Desilting of drains near Artemis Hospital, 51/52, 52/57 and 49/50 have been completed while desilting at Good Earth, 50/51, 51/57 is nearing completion. Additionally, desilting of sewer lines near Mayfield Garden has been completed, and this would greatly address waterlogging at this intersection. Regular desilting and opening of blockages in surface and master drains, cleaning of road gullies and water chutes is being carried out by GMDA,” said Singh.

Officials said the pumping capacity at Narsingpur has been augmented as compared to last year to address the issue of waterlogging in the service roads. Additionally, tractor mounted pumps and pumping machinery are also being installed in areas where waterlogging is reported during the rains, they said.