Few hours of rain brings Gurgaon traffic to a halt again

Traffic went completely out of gear on Friday morning after few hours of rain sending a grim reminder of the massive traffic jam which happened on July 28 last year.

Traffic went out of gear on Friday morning after few hours of rain caused water logging and brought Gurgaon to a standstill -- a grim reminder of the massive traffic jam on July 28 last year.

Gurgaon police and traffic officials were present on the roads in strength and tried hard to ensure smooth movement of vehicles. (HT Photo)

Major crossings on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, Old Delhi-Gurgaon road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and on other sector roads turned into bottlenecks and office goers remained stuck for over three hours.

Waterlogged roads and construction at Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower crossing, Iffco Chowk and Maharana Partap Chowk slowed down vehicle movement.

Commuters were stuck for hours at Gurgaon’s Rajiv Chowk. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The traffic jam started from Sirhaul toll plaza and Dundahera near the Delhi-Gurgaon border from 9 am and kept swelling as office goers started moving towards Gurgaon. Vehicles were struck on Sector 22-23 road, between Jawala Mill and Dundahera, Atlas Chowk, Shankar Chowk and Iffco Chowk on the eastern side of the highway.

“I remained stuck on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway for close to two hours at the Iffco Chowk, Sector 31 cut. It was almost impossible to move,” said Virender Poswal, who lives in Dwarka and works on Sohna road.

The situation was so grim that Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar went to Rajiv Chowk to take stock of the situation. “All of us will get together and keep resolving challenges as they emerge,” Khirwar said. He said officials were deployed on roads since early morning and this helped in managing the situation in a better way.

Commuters who took the Palam Vihar and Sheetla Mata roads found themselves stuck at Maharana Partap Chowk. “It is impossible to cross the highway from east to west. All chowks were jammed,” said Deeptiman Sharma, who works on Golf Course road in an IT firm.

In the evening, representatives of Gurgaon police, HUDA, MCG, GMDA and the district administration met to improve traffic management and discuss other issues related to monsoon.

“An early warning system will be set up in collaboration with other agencies to ensure that rain at night does not catch us unawares. Teams have been formed and they will be deployed at 14 strategic points during monsoon,” said Khirwar.

A part of the road adjoining the newly built underpass caved in at Rajiv Chowk. Heavy congestion was also seen at Hero Honda Chowk and on service lanes till the Kherki Daula toll plaza. Sohna Road, Bakhtawar Chowk, Subash Chowk, Jharsa Road, MG Road and Golf Course road.

The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway on NH8 was the worst-affected.