Rain and waterlogging leave Gurugram battered; traffic snarls reported

Gurugram: Traffic at major locations across Gurugram was disrupted following heavy rainfall and waterlogging on Friday, and police personnel struggled to decongest the main carriageway and service lanes for three hours, said officials

Gurugram: Traffic at major locations across Gurugram was disrupted following heavy rainfall and waterlogging on Friday, and police personnel struggled to decongest the main carriageway and service lanes for three hours, said officials.

Gurugram, India-August 05: A commuter pushes his bike through a waterlogged street due to heavy rains on the National Highway-48 service road near the Narsinghpur village foot-over-bridge, in Gurugram, India, on Friday, 05 August 2022. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

According to the Gurugram traffic police, the vehicular movement on National Highway 48 (NH-48) remained slow for hours after three vehicles broke down at Narsinghpur, Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk due to waterlogging.

More than 900 traffic police personnel were deployed across the city soon after it started raining, who in coordination with the civic authorities concerned, pumped out rainwater and managed to curb a major congestion.

At least 100 more police personnel were deployed in several areas such as Narsinghpur, Rajiv Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Sikanderpur, Sheetla Mata Road, Golf Course Extension Road, Manesar, Signature Tower, and sectors 10 and 62 by the evening, following heavy traffic, said officials.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department said that Gurugram on Friday received 19mm rainfall, with Sohna recording the maximum at 63mm. The sky will remain partly cloudy, with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers on Saturday, it said.

Virender Singh Sangwan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said that the lanes on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway were affected for some time after the breakdown of three trucks. “We visited the stretch and cleared it. Our well-equipped teams also removed three vehicles from as many spots,” Sangwan said, adding that they have been coordinating with the dedicated teams deployed at the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) to ensure timely action on traffic disruptions due to waterlogging.

Police on Friday also deployed 25 PCR vehicles, 30 individual riders, 20 towing vehicles, five earthmoving machines, and 150 vehicles from several police stations at several stretches along 15 key points, including the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

Komal Thakran, a resident of Sector 66, said that travelling along the Golf Course Extension Road during monsoon is difficult. “While driving to Cyber City on Friday morning, I was stuck there for over an hour. The stretch is in a bad condition, and rain adds to the woes,” Thakran said.

“The stretch between Hero Honda Chowk and Pataudi crossing was affected the most on Friday. I had taken the service lane, and it took me almost one hour to cross the 4.2km stretch. Potholes on the service lane were not even visible, making it more dangerous for commuters,” said Anurag Bishnoi, a resident of Sector 37.

According to the IMD, Gurugram on Friday recorded a maximum temperature of 33 degree Celsius (°C) and 25°C -- two degrees and one degree below the normal, respectively. On Saturday, the city is likely to record the maximum and minimum temperatures at 32°C and 25°C, they added.