Reporter’s Diary: Gurugram’s rain plans keep going down the drain

In June, the government said corrective work had been completed at all 158 locations identified as vulnerable to flooding, but waterlogging returned.

Gurugram’s monsoon story is no longer just about waterlogging. It is about why the city keeps returning to the same problem despite years of desilting, pumping, inspections and assurances.

Commuters navigate a waterlogged stretch after Saturday’s rains at Gurugram-Sohna road near sector-68, Airia Mall. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

As a reporter covering Gurugram, I have watched the cycle repeat itself for years. It rains, roads disappear under water, traffic comes to a standstill, emergency teams are rushed out, pumps start working, officials inspect hotspots, meetings are held and explanations are sought. Once the water recedes, the city moves on until the next rain.

This monsoon, however, residents appear to have had enough. Complaints on WhatsApp groups and social media have evolved into citizens mapping waterlogging points, collecting data and approaching the administration with specific solutions. A crowdsourced map has recorded hundreds of waterlogging locations, while a citizens’ group that recently met senior officials submitted five major hotspots for action.

The irony is hard to miss: people living with the problem are now doing part of the diagnostic work themselves.

The MCG and GMDA, meanwhile, have repeatedly carried out desilting, deployed pumps and worked on vulnerable locations. In June, the government said corrective work had been completed at all 158 locations identified as vulnerable to flooding. Yet heavy rain returned, and so did waterlogging.

But I keep coming back to one question: how many plans does Gurugram need before one becomes reality?

The issue has also become political. Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh has blamed development over old natural drainage channels during the Congress era and called for restoration of natural watercourses and even underground channels. He met Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini seeking accountability from officials after earlier assurances that the city would not face waterlogging failed. Congress has, in turn, questioned the BJP government over Gurugram’s infrastructure and the money already spent on it.

The blame keeps travelling backwards while the water keeps coming down.

Residents are no longer asking for another explanation. They want to know the permanent solution, who will implement it, how much it will cost and when it will be completed.

Gurugram has experts, engineers, money, technology, political leadership and citizens willing to provide data. What it lacks is closure. Until all these pieces work together, every rain will expose the same contradiction: Gurugram may be one of India’s most ambitious cities, but when the skies open, it still behaves like a city waiting for its drainage plan to arrive.

Leena heads the Gurugram bureau and has extensively covered civic issues, environment, crime, real estate and politics.