Rain, auto strike add to Gurgaon commuters’ woes

GURGAON: Water-logging because of the rain and an autorickshaw drivers’ strike on Monday left commuters stranded in parts of Gurgaon in the evening, rekindling fears

GURGAON: Water-logging because of the rain and an autorickshaw drivers’ strike on Monday left commuters stranded in parts of Gurgaon in the evening, rekindling fears of last month’s monster traffic jam.

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There was acute water-logging at Hero Hero Honda Chowk, Sohna Road, Manesar, Udyog Vihar, old Gurgaon Road and parts of New Gurgaon.

Heavy snarls were reported on either side of Hero Honda Chowk, Kherki Daula Toll, Rajiv Chowk and Golf Course road. The Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road remained largely unaffected.

Dr Vinod Sharma, a resident of Rewari, said it took him over an hour to cross Hero Honda Chowk. “Fearing another traffic failure, I left office (in Delhi) at an hour earlier at 5 pm. It took me nearly two hours to cross Gurgaon. The traffic was mostly concentrated at Hero Honda Chowk.”

He said 50 police officials with truck-mounted cranes at the spot were able to keep the traffic moving.

By early evening, Gurgaon Police and Delhi Police on Twitter warned commuters to avoid the city roads and maintain discipline if stranded.

Commuters on Delhi roads complained of traffic jams, tweeting pictures of snarls and waterlogged areas.

“…as per information from area traffic officer (on Ring Road near IIT-Delhi), traffic is heavy due to heavy rain and water logging,” the Delhi Traffic Police handle replied to a tweet.

With police and civic personnel at work, the traffic crisis was limited to three hours from 5pm.

In July, Gurgaon was brought to a standstill by a traffic jam on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway’s Hero Honda Chowk that lasted for nearly 72 hours.

On Monday, hundreds of Gurgaon cops equipped with truck-mounted cranes and civic officials were deployed at important junctions. Gurgaon corporation used 30 super-suction machines to reduce water-logging.

Around 24,000 auto rickshaws were off the road owing to a strike against a police crackdown. Though the strike was called off by late evening, commuters complained they were asked to pay thrice the regular fare.

“Usually, a five-kilometre auto ride from HUDA City Centre Metro station to Uniworld Gardens in Sector 47 costs Rs 100, but no one was willing to ply for less than Rs 300,” said Anita Manoharan, an NGO employee.