Waterlogging in key stretches after heavy rain lashes Gurugram

Severe traffic congestion and waterlogging inconvenienced residents after heavy rain lashed Gurugram on Saturday morning.

According to the weather department, the city received 62mm rainfall that led to waterlogging in several stretches of the National Highway (NH-48).

Many city areas were heavily inundated, with the Narsinghpur stretch of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and areas near Iffco Chowk Metro station remaining waterlogged till the evening hours.

All major areas such as Narsinghpur Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Vatika Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Kherki Daula, Golf Course Extension Road, Southern Peripheral Road, Udyog Vihar, Sohna Road, Basai, Khandsa Road and Pataudi Road were affected along with a number of internal roads, said officials.

Gurugram traffic police issued an alert over social media and advised residents not to move out of their houses unless it is a necessity.

Commuters had a harrowing time as water accumulated on many internal roads. Police said the three-kilometre stretch from Khandsa to Kherki Daula toll was one of the worst affected areas, and commuters had to rely on the main carriageway for the movement of their vehicles.

Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said that except for a few places, the situation was managed on time. “Our teams were deployed at all major locations, and we were monitoring all the waterlogging spots. Suction pumps were used by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and within a few hours, the situation was back to normal,” he said.

In spite of the timely action by the civic agencies, many commuters were stuck in traffic jams at Hero Honda Chowk and Subhash Chowk.

Tapan Roy, a resident of Sector 90, said the situation has remained the same in the last five years. “What is the point of collecting taxes when residents cannot get a proper drainage system? We get stuck on roads for hours and keep calling the helpline numbers but to no avail. The Narsinghpur stretch seems to be a long and never-ending project. The authorities should seriously do something about it,” he said.

“We will stop paying taxes if the problems of waterlogging and bad roads are not resolved this year. The residents of Golf Course Extension Road and Southern Peripheral Road face the problem of waterlogging every time it rains. The roads are also broken and sewer water overflows,” said Bharti Munjal, a resident of Sector 66.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) media bulletin, Gurugram recorded a maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius (­°C) and a minimum of 24°C on Saturday.

According to the IMD’s seven-day forecast, the city is expected to have spells of rain till Tuesday and partly overcast sky is expected on Thursday and Friday.