Monsoon woes: Stormwater drain to come up in Gurugram’s Narsinghpur

Following a month-long dedicated effort, the Gurugram administration has finally managed to find out a solution to the waterlogging problem in Narsinghpur, Gurugram. Lying along the NH8, this area witnesses worst waterlogging after every spell of rain, thus crippling mobility. With a long-term drain construction stuck in litigation, a team led by DC Ajay Kumar has managed to work out a temporary stormwater drain.

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“The long-term permanent solution to Narsinghpur is still awaited owing to litigations, but we will ensure there will be no waterlogging here during the monsoon season anymore. We will be constructing an open drain to get the water put along the gravity. Prior to this, we were pumping water against gravity, which made efforts futile. The drain will be built by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and we have managed to secure space for the same. We are making the area encroachment-free,” said DC Ajay Kumar while speaking to The Tribune.

The absence of an outlet for stormwater drain makes Narsinghpur, the lowest point on Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, the worst waterlogging point in Gurugram. Rainwater from the Aravallis and new sectors developed along Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) accumulates at this point, but there is no outlet. Only way to drain the area is through pumps.

As part of the new plan, a major joint demolition drive was conducted by the GMDA and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to clear the encroachments in the Narsinghpur and Mohammedpur areas, situated along NH-48, to further facilitate the laying of drainage infrastructure to resolve the recurrent issue of waterlogging at the Narsinghpur service road during the monsoon season.

To channelise the stormwater from Narsinghpur to the Badshahpur drain during monsoons, the GMDA has undertaken the planning to lay 750-m drainage pipeline on the land acquired by HSIIDC in 2006. To facilitate the development of the adequate infrastructure, the GMDA and HSIIDC cleared the stretch and removed the illegal structures and encroachment to pave way for laying the drainage network to connect Narsinghpur and the Badshahpur drain and tackle the situation of waterlogging in the area.

“As per the directions issued by the GMDA CEO, today’s action was undertaken as joint coordination between the GMDA and HSIIDC to facilitate the successful development of the much-needed drainage infrastructure, which will be of immense benefit to residents and commuters during the monsoon season. The area required for laying the pipeline was made available by removing any illegal encroachments and drainage work has already been taken up by the GMDA,” said DTP GMDA RS Batth.

“The work to lay drainage pipeline between to ensure free flow of stormwater and curb any waterlogging situation along the low-lying area of Narsinghpur was held up due to non-availability of clear ROW on HSIIDC land, which was identified for this project. The GMDA will now commence the work of connecting this stretch with main the Badshahpur drain, which will provide a long-term solution for resolving waterlogging concerns on this key stretch along the national highway,” added GMDA Executive Engineer Vikram Singh.