Gurugram waterlogging: Old problems not fixed, infra projects bring new potholes

Traffic was hit on Chaudhary Bakhtawar Singh Road and the Atul Kataria Chowk-Signature Towers stretch when it rained on July 13. GMDA officials said the underground channel drains at both were covered during construction work last year, an error discovered only after the roads went under.

Four arterial roads of the city have been identified to be most prone to waterlogging this year, said officials of the Gururgram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

Water logging in Sector 45, Gurugram, after rain on July 13. (Yogesh Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Though waterlogging is a common sight at the Hero Honda Honda Chowk every monsoon, three other roads — Chaudhary Bakhtawar Singh Road, Atul Kataria Chowk-signature Towers stretch and Golf Course Road-golf Course Extension Road went under water when it rained on July 13.

GMDA officials said the underground channel drains at CH Bakhtawar Singh Road and Atul Kataria Chowk-signature Tower stretch were inadvertently covered during the construction of underpasses last year, which was discovered only after the roads got waterlogged last week. “At both these points, drainage channels have been disturbed due to the construction of underpasses. We are working on rectifying the problem,” V Umashankar, the chief executive officer of GMDA, said.

He said that the GMDA has formulated a plan to prevent waterlogging on the three stretches, while Huda will work out a solution for Hero Honda Chowk.

CH BAKHTAWAR SINGH ROAD

Waterlogging on the road, locally known as Medanta road, led to a three-kilometre-long gridlock last Friday. Commuters said the road became unusable due to waterlogging, forcing them to bypass the stretch and use a longer route, via Sohna Road.

Umashankar attributed the waterlogging at the stretch to the construction of the unidirectional underpass at Rajiv Chowk. “At the CH Bakhtawar Singh Road, we recently discovered the point where the drainage channel had been closed. Hence, roads behind the Tau Devi Lal stadium have been broken to unclog drains. A super suction machine has been placed at the point and the stretch will be unclogged in 10 days,” he said.

ATUL KATARIA CHOWK SIGNATURE TOWERS

On July 13, rain led to two lanes on each of the carriageways between Atul Kataria Chowk and Signature Towers being rendered unusable. As a result, commuters travelling along the route took over 40 minutes to cover the distance of four kilometres.

According to officials, roads at both these points were heavily excavated for the construction of underpasses. However, when these were reconstructed, the drainage channels had been blocked and the mistake was realised only after rains.

“The two times it has rained heavily in the city since June, crossing the stretch has been a major hassle. I have been stuck at one spot for over 20 minutes on both occasions, terrified that the rainwater may seep into my vehicle’s engine and cause a breakdown,” Akshaj Sehgal, a resident of Palam Vihar, said.

Umashankar attributed the waterlogging at the Atul Kataria Chowk- Signature Towers stretch to the construction of a bidirectional underpass at Signature Towers.

“We are still trying to identify points from where drains flow and will carry out the excavation work accordingly. We may need to replace pipelines entirely here,” Umashankar said.

GOLF COURSE ROADGOLF COURSE EXT ROAD

This road is known to house upscale condominiums, MNCS and malls. While waterlogging submerges most of Golf Course Extension road and some stretches at the endpoints of the Golf Course road, most of the Golf stretch was affected on July 13, with only six of 16 lanes usable for commuters.

Officials stated that it is the location of the area, which lies alongside the Aravalli hills, that causes waterlogging by making it a collection point for the runoff rainwater from the hills. Although the drains along the stretch, according to officials, have been cleaned, they have also conceded that more extensive measures are needed.

“We identified a heavy gush of rainwater, which comes off from the Aravallis behind Suncity and adjoining areas, as the cause of waterlogging on Friday. The drains located on the Golf Course Road could not deal with such a volume, as a result of which the roads were left heavily waterlogged for two hours,” Lalit Arora, the superintending engineer of GMDA said.

“As a temporary measure, GMDA is working towards channelising rainwater to the creeks located in the Aravallis and is working towards a long-term solution of building check dams in the area to check the flow of rainwater,” Arora said.

HERO HONDA CHOWK-NARSINGHPUR

Residents said that after the onehour spell of heavy rain on July 13, the Hero Honda Chowk-narsinghpur stretch remained submerged for almost 48 hours. One lane of the expressway meant for commuters travelling towards Manesar gets inundated after the rainfall, say commuters, as a result of which waterlogging ends up causing congestion along the expressway.

Waterlogging of the Hero Honda Chowk-narsinghpur stretch of Gurugram was the core cause of the 2016 Gurujam.

The Badhshahpur drain was identified as the root of the problem in 2016, with officials attributing the issue to a small 600-metre stretch of the drain, where its width reduces from 30 metres to 10 metres.

Although the Haryana Urban Development Authority was handed the task of widening the drain in 2016, work has been progressing at a snail’s pace and has missed multiple deadlines.

Officials said that a long-term project of dividing the drain’s output is the only permanent solution. “As an interim solution, we were able to flush out rainwater and check the drain’s overflow near Hero Honda Chowk by placing water pumps inside the Badshapur drain at Khandsa village,” Dr Chandra Shekhar Khare, Huda administrator said.