Rain cools down Gurugram, but waterlogging disrupts traffic

Gurugram recorded a sharp 5.5°C drop in its maximum temperature on Friday, which settled at 20°C, compared with 25.5°C the previous day

Overnight showers brought relief from high pollution levels in Gurugram on Friday but left several roads waterlogged, disrupting traffic and inconveniencing commuters across the city.

Vehicles wade through a waterlogged stretch of Sector 10 Road on Friday (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Residents reported waterlogging in Sector 10, along the Sector 102/102A road, on Sohna Road near Aria Mall and at Tulip Chowk in Sector 69. Accumulated rainwater slowed traffic as commuters struggled to navigate the affected stretches.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gurugram received an average of 30.5mm of rainfall between 8.30am on Thursday and 8.30am on Friday, followed by another 3mm between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Friday.

District administration data showed that Pataudi tehsil received the highest rainfall at 80mm in the 24 hours ending at 8am on Friday, followed by Farrukhnagar at 51mm and Sohna at 42mm. Wazirabad received 39mm, Badshahpur 38mm, Gurugram tehsil 27mm, and Kadipur and Harsaru 26mm each. Manesar recorded the lowest rainfall at 18mm.

The Sector 102/102A road was among the worst-affected stretches, with residents saying the low-lying section becomes waterlogged even after light showers.

Residents said the road, revamped by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) last year at a cost of approximately ₹11 crore, has started deteriorating due to persistent waterlogging.

Sunil Sareen, a Sector 102 resident and co-convenor of the citizen-led Dwarka Expressway Gurugram Development Authority (DXPGDA), said, “We have repeatedly urged the civic authorities to look into the issue and come up with a permanent solution. The stretch was recently revamped, yet waterlogging continues to cause inconvenience to residents.”

GMDA spokesperson Neha Sharma attributed the waterlogging to uneven road levels along a section of the Sector 102/102A stretch.

“GMDA is aware of the issue, and the road will be levelled once the GRAP period is over,” she said.

Sharma said the authority had deployed pumps at Atul Kataria Chowk, Old Delhi Road and Old MG Road to drain accumulated rainwater.

“We are also in discussions with NHAI on how to resolve the drainage problem along Sohna Road and prevent waterlogging,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents of Sushant Lok-1 reported damage to a road in C Block following the overnight showers.

Tanya Kumar, a resident, said the damage had raised concerns about the quality of construction and the durability of road infrastructure, highlighting the need for better maintenance.

A senior MCG official told HT, “We will look into the matter, inspect if the contractor carried out the work properly and appropriate action will be taken after inspection.”

Traffic Snarls across the city

Slow-moving traffic was reported on NH-48 near Rajiv Chowk and around Leisure Valley Park and Tau Devi Lal Stadium on Friday morning. Congestion was also reported in old Gurugram, particularly near Sadar Bazar, Khandsa Road, Sector 37, Sector 74A and parts of Manesar around 9.30am.

By evening, congestion had intensified along NH-48 and several arterial roads across the city. Heavy traffic was reported in Udyog Vihar Phase 3, MG Road, Old Delhi Road, Cyber City, Bilaspur Kalan, Khandsa, Sikanderpur, Basai Road, Rajiv Chowk, Bakhtawar Chowk, Sohna Road and Sector 37, with commuters reporting longer travel times.

“There was not much waterlogging on major roads, but our teams were deployed at several locations to ease traffic congestion,” a senior traffic police official said.

Weather forecast

The IMD issued an orange alert for Gurugram on Friday. According to its afternoon bulletin, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms was expected across Haryana during the day, followed by dry weather.

Haryana’s average maximum temperature rose by 0.8°C on Friday but remained 3.8°C below normal. The highest maximum temperature in the state was 29.3°C, recorded at Hisar, Sirsa and Balasmand.

Gurugram recorded a sharp 5.5°C drop in its maximum temperature on Friday, which settled at 20°C, compared with 25.5°C the previous day. The minimum temperature stood at 17.2°C, according to the IMD bulletin. Narnaul recorded the lowest minimum temperature in Haryana at 13°C.

Weather scientists said the impact of the western disturbance was expected to weaken from Friday afternoon, with dry north-westerly winds likely to bring down night-time temperatures across Haryana over the weekend.

Gurugram AQI improves

The showers brought a sharp improvement in Gurugram’s air quality, a day after the city recorded its worst pollution levels this October, with an air quality index (AQI) of 243 in the ‘poor’ category.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Sameer application, the city’s overall AQI dropped to 73, in the ‘satisfactory’ category, at 6.30pm on Friday.

Station-level readings, however, showed variations across the city. TERI Gram recorded an AQI of 100, in the ‘satisfactory’ category, while Gwal Pahari registered 106 and Sector 51 recorded 169, both in the ‘moderate’ category.