Afternoon showers lead to waterlogging on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway
Several areas in the city were waterlogged after heavy overnight rain on Monday and another spell on Tuesday afternoon. One of the worst-affected areas in the city was a three-kilometre stretch between Narsinghpur and Kherki Daula on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.
Gurugram received two spells of rain on Tuesday. The first spell was between 12 noon and 3.30am and the other was between 1.30pm to 3.30pm. As per the website of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 16.3mm of rainfall and is likely to get spells of rain every day till at least July 27.
On Tuesday, the service lane heading towards Kherki Daula was completely inundated with water and cut off for motor vehicles for several hours. The accumulated rainwater also spilled onto the main carriageway of the expressway, leaving commuters with only a single lane to pass through.
Such waterlogging, however, is not uncommon for the stretch, which sees flooding every monsoon season. The stretch is located in a low-lying area along a slope. During heavy rains, the backflow of sewer and rainwater from the nearby Badshahpur drain floods the area.
To ensure that the impact of this overflow is minimal during this monsoon season, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had installed six motor pumps last month along this stretch. However, only three of these pumps started working properly after 2.30pm on Tuesday.
“There was an issue with the power connection at the stretch. Without electricity, we weren’t able to switch on the motor pumps to drain out rainwater in the morning. Around 12pm, a 65 kVA diesel generator was arranged and the motor pumps only started working at full capacity around 2.30pm. Following the afternoon rains, it took us another three hours to pump out the rainwater significantly,” said an NHAI official privy to the matter.
Meanwhile, commuters travelling through the stretch said that although the volume of the vehicles was low, the limited space available in the carriageway meant they had to pass through the stretch at a very low speed. This added to their travel time.
“In the morning, there was only one lane of space available at most points of the stretch as the remaining lanes of the carriageway and the service lanes were completely inundated. Although the volume of vehicles was very low, we had to cross the stretch in a single file. Therefore, it took me longer to cross the area and I got delayed by ten minutes,” said Ishwar Chand, a resident of Sector 82.
Other parts of the city
Apart from the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, the Gurugram Interstate Bus Terminal (ISBT) in Sector 12 was also inundated for the second day in a row. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) officials, however, said it was a localised drainage issue, which was fixed around 4pm on Tuesday after which the rainwater receded.
“There was a localised drainage issue at the ISBT that was rectified by the late afternoon, following which it was cleared of rainwater. Overall, we used 22 motor pumps across the city to drain out rainwater on Tuesday. With the help of pumps, we were able to drain out rainwater from most waterlogged stretches within two hours after it stopped raining. By evening, most roads had little to no waterlogging,” said Raman Sharma, chief engineer, MCG.
The Gurugram traffic police issued warnings on various social media platforms and cautioned commuters regarding heavy waterlogging in areas such as Sector 50, IMT Manesar, Dundahera, Sohna Chowk, Basai Road, and Iffco Chowk. Waterlogging was also reported at various arterial roads in sectors 47, 49, 30, 31, 10, 10A, 27, and 28.
Earlier on Monday, two patches of roads — one under the Iffco Chowk flyover and the other at another portion of the road near the Bakhtawar Chowk — caved in after 12mm of rain on Sunday night. At least eight trees also fell due to the strong winds and heavy rains on Sunday.
