Rainwater floods homes, roads in Gurugram

Despite repeated complaints about flooding on the 18m road in Gurugram’s Sector 23A, the department refuses to act, said residents

At least 20 spots across the city witnessed severe waterlogging, forcing residents to remain indoors during the first half of the day. Heavy rainfall on Friday morning caused significant traffic jams across Gurugram, which were managed to be cleared out within an hour, said officials.

People are going to work amid rain on the NH-48 service road near Khandsa village in Gurugram on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

According to the weather department, the city received 30mm of rainfall, while Sohna recorded 80mm, leading to waterlogging on several stretches of National Highway (NH-48). Residents of Dwarka Expressway, sectors 9, 21, 23, 10A, and MG Road reported significant waterlogging, making it difficult to leave their homes. Other affected areas included the Delhi-Gurugram expressway stretch, Iffco Chowk Metro station.

Similarly, Narsinghpur Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Vatika Chowk, Iffco Chowk,, Golf Course Extension Road, Southern Peripheral Road, Udyog Vihar, Sohna Road, Basai, Khandsa Road, and Pataudi Road experienced waterlogging along with several internal roads faced waterlogging, officials said.

Vice president of Sector 23A RWA Bhawani Shankar Tripathy criticised the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) for inadequate monsoon preparations. “Post-monsoon, all civic works are disrupted as MCG assigns all staff to the SWEEP campaign. Despite repeated complaints about flooding on the 18m road in Sector 23A, the department refuses to act. Low manpower in the department and frequent transfers of engineers have further complicated the situation,” he claimed.

Gauri Sarin, founder of Making Model Gurugram, a citizens’ initiative, said that she had an opportunity to speak to the new chief engineer who agreed with her that the rainfall was way too heavy to not cause waterlogging. “My estimate is that desilting of storm water drains has been inadequate this time and may need to be done with more attention. Waste and water are both relatively neglected areas and we propose a full blown assessment and overhaul. The water logging list based on last year’s problems was submitted to MCGC and GMDA well in advance. However Friday’s rains should be considered an aberration. Finally, but the drainage structure itself is faulty and requires long-term reworking by GMDA,” she said.

Smriti Chhabra, a resident of DLF Phase 2, lamented the city’s persistent waterlogging and infrastructure issues. “For more than a decade, the condition remains unchanged with waterlogging and potholes common across the city. Inadequate drainage and water harvesting capabilities are major reasons for this,” she said.

Vikram Singh from Sector 23A emphasized the recurring issue of waterlogging due to poor drainage. “Every year, even a few drops lead to waterlogging. All drains should be cleaned before the monsoon and connected to the master drain,” he urged.

Commuters like Shashi Dharan and Parvin Kaushal reported harrowing experiences due to the flooding. “From Sushant Lok to IFFCO Chowk Metro Red Light, the stretch was waterlogged. The stretch between Mileninum Metro station and Ardee City Red Light was congested and waterlogged. It was difficult to drive on the stretch,” said Dharan of Essel Towers on MG Road described his 6.10am commute.

Meanwhile, Kaushal, a resident of Sobha City in Sector 108, reported severe waterlogging on the Dwarka Expressway stretch. “The Sector 106/109 dividing road is waterlogged, making it difficult to commute amid the existing potholes. Roads outside our society are broken, accumulating water frequently, despite the inauguration of the Dwarka Expressway. This persisting issue making it difficult for residents to drive on the stretch or even walk,” he said.

Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54 and a member of citizen monitoring committee said that storm water drains are clogged in at least 30 places, leading to waterlogging. “Desiliting has not begun in several key areas, including Sector 45, Ardee City, Sector 21 area with MCG, Greenwood City A Block, and Sector 57,” she said.

Commuters faced a distressing time as water accumulated on many internal roads

Rohit Yadav, a resident of Sector 10A , said that he was stuck Subhash Chowk underpass for over an hour. “Due to waterlogging the entire underpass was jampacked. I entered without thinking that it will even take longer to cross the stretch. My car broke down and I had to call crane to tow it,” he said.

Another resident of Sector 14, Garvit Kapoor, shared his ordeal of his motorbike seizing in the water during his attempt to rescue a friend who got stranded on a waterlogged stretch of a service lane of NH-48 near Naersinghpur. “I had to call another friend with ropes who helped us get out of the stretch. It took us over three hours to come out,” added Kapoor, a college student.

Police reported that the three-kilometre stretch from Khandsa to Kherki Daula toll was one of the worst affected areas, forcing commuters to use the main carriageway. Despite efforts by the Gurugram traffic police, MCG, GMDA, and district administration officials from 6am, many commuters faced long delays. Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) Virender Vij said, “Barring for a few places, the situation was manageable. Our teams were deployed at all major locations, monitoring waterlogging spots. Suction pumps used by the GMDA and MCG helped return the situation to normal within a few hours.”

Despite the timely action by civic agencies, many commuters were stuck in traffic jams on MG Road, Sohna Road, Golf Course Extension Road, Khandsa, and Sector 10. Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav pointed out that uncleaned surface drains led to waterlogging on main roads. “We have asked NHAI to clean all surface drains from major crossings. We will visit the sites on Saturday to check the situation,” he said.

MCG commissioner Narhari Singh Bangar stated that teams worked diligently to pump out water from various areas. “The situation was better than in previous years, but some spots required more attention. We will ensure these spots are not clogged again,” he said.