Waterlogging from morning rain chokes traffic in Noida, Ghaziabad

Traffic in Noida and Ghaziabad slowed down considerably during morning rush hours on Monday.

Waterlogging after early morning showers on Monday forced traffic in Noida and Ghaziabad to slow down considerably during morning rush hours, with battered roads compounding the problem.

Jams like the one on Noida-Greater Noida Expressway were seen in many places on Monday morning. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

In Noida, traffic from City Centre towards Mahamaya flyover and DND Expressway moved at a snail’s pace due to waterlogging at Shashi Chowk near Golf Course Metro station.

Waterlogging also occurred near Labour Chowk, which connects traffic coming from Sector 12/22 with NIB near NH 24 and Mamura Chowk, and at Sector 31/25 intersection, leading to traffic jams in these places.

“These are some bottleneck points that get waterlogged when it rains, affecting traffic movement. We inform the Noida authority for help if required. Thankfully, Noida has not received heavy rains till now,” said Dharmendra Singh Yadav, traffic inspector, Noida.

Traffic on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway towards Delhi via Chilla border and Akshardham was also affected since morning.

“Pedestrians, two and three-wheelers, and cyclists took shelter under the flyover near Sector 14A police headquarters and disturbed the flow of traffic on the main carriageway of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. Similar reasons caused traffic jams or slowed down traffic on other roads such as Model Town near NH 24 to Sector 71, NIB to Labour Chowk and near Mahamaya flyover,” said a traffic constable on duty.

“The CISF-Vasundhara road too was completely choked when I stepped out for my Gurgaon office. I returned home and waited till 11.30am. Thereafter, I still found traffic jams and decided to go to my branch office at Sector 62 in Noida. It also took me nearly 35 minutes to cover a distance of four to five kilometres,” said Sanjeev Sethi of Indirapuram.

Traffic police in Ghaziabad said that major traffic problems were due to potholed roads and broken-down patches that are yet to be cleaned up by different maintenance agencies.

“We have written to government agencies to get the roads repaired before monsoon. However, some patches are yet to be repaired. We will write to them once more,” said Rajesh Kumar, superintendent of police (traffic), Ghaziabad.