Usual monsoon misery returns to Gurugram with waterlogged roads, traffic

The National Capital Region was hit by a familiar monsoon nightmare on Friday – waterlogged roads, vehicles crawling through flooded stretches and traffic jams stretching for kilometres – barely a week before Delhi hosts the 18th BRICS Summit

The National Capital Region was hit by a familiar monsoon nightmare on Friday – waterlogged roads, vehicles crawling through flooded stretches and traffic jams stretching for kilometres – barely a week before Delhi hosts the 18th BRICS Summit.

The worst of the chaos unfolded on the expressway connecting Gurugram and Delhi, where a traffic snarl stretching nearly 10 kilometres left thousands of commuters trapped for hours. (PTI)

The worst of the chaos unfolded on the expressway connecting Gurugram and Delhi, where a traffic snarl stretching nearly 10 kilometres left thousands of commuters trapped for hours. Several motorists HT spoke to said they could not cover even six kilometres in three hours.

The jam began near Shiv Murti in Delhi’s Mahipalpur and stretched up to Udyog Vihar Phase IV in Gurugram by 6.30pm, according to Gurugram traffic police.

Thousands of commuters were caught in the snarl for four to five hours.

“There is no spot to even take a U-turn now. I have been trapped in my vehicle for the last three hours. Looking at the scenario, it seems it may take two to three more hours before I may be able to cross this entire stretch,” said Vikas Kumar, who was travelling from Gurugram towards Delhi.

The immediate trigger was severe waterlogging near Shiv Murti, Gurugram traffic police officials said. ACP (Gurugram traffic headquarters) Satyapal Yadav said traffic headed towards Delhi was diverted at Iffco Chowk towards Aya Nagar via MG Road. “We have diverted the traffic moving towards Delhi via the expressway at Iffco Chowk to travel towards Aya Nagar from MG Road,” Yadav said.

In Delhi, even stretches in and around Connaught Place were flooded, with visuals showing cars navigating waterlogged roads. Mahipalpur and the area around Subroto Park were badly affected. In Mahipalpur, children were seen playing in knee-deep rainwater, while near Subroto Park, water cascaded onto vehicles from a flyover.

The flooding in and around Lutyens’ Delhi was particularly jarring given that the area is preparing to host the BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13, when heads of state and senior delegations from several countries will converge there.

In Gurugram, the fragile drainage network once again came under strain. Sheetla Mata Road, MG Road, Palam Vihar, NH-48 and internal roads in Manesar were among the worst affected. Residential areas including sectors 9A, 10, 15 Part 2, 17A and 31 reported accumulated water on internal roads and outside gates, bringing two-wheelers and smaller cars to a halt.

Videos shared by commuters on social media showed vehicles moving through flooded stretches on Sheetla Mata Road, with residents questioning the city’s monsoon preparedness.

“It took barely 45 minutes of rain for the entire stretch outside our colony to turn into an open canal. Every monsoon, the same promises are made about desilting, yet the outcome never changes,” said a resident of Sector 15 Part 2, requesting anonymity.

Brigadier Sukhbir Singh, vice-president of the Palam Vihar RWA, said most roads in the area were already in poor condition. “Water gets accumulated in Vyapar Kendra, Krishna Chowk and various other blocks. There is no proper drainage in the area,” he said.

Gurugram received 44.5mm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Meteorologists attributed the spell to the monsoon trough. “A well-built low pressure area was present over southwest Uttar Pradesh, and the trough was moving towards the same region, while moving through Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi. On Saturday, as the trough moves further north, Delhi may see even heavier rain,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Skymet Weather.

The scenes once again raised questions over repeated claims of improved drainage and monsoon preparedness in the NCR.

Officials from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said high-capacity pumps and suction tankers had been deployed at vulnerable junctions to clear accumulated water.

MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya, however, tried putting up a brave front despite the chaos in the city. He said the situation was better than in previous years. “Instead of seasonal firefighting, we focused on targeted ground interventions. Water clearance times have dropped significantly across nearly 75% of identified hotspots, and we have already operationalised rainwater harvesting systems at 113 of the 184 designated locations, each designed to handle up to two lakh litres of runoff,” he said.

GMDA spokesperson Neha Sharma said teams had monitored key locations and taken flood-relief measures to facilitate the discharge of storm water.

With Inputs from Abhishek Bhatia in Gurugram and Snehil Sinha in Delhi.