Heavy downpour, poor drainage turn Gurugram into ‘Jalgram’

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, July 25

Nearly two hours of heavy rain along the Southern Peripheral Road in Gurugram left many parts of the city inundated, triggering major traffic congestion. Stretches like the Golf Course, Golf Course Extension road, Sohna road and Faridabad road witnessed traffic jams. The normal travel time of around 20 minutes turned into an hour and more for many. The Gurugram traffic police struggled to control the situation, blaming the poor drainage as the key reason behind the chaos on this stretch.

“Sewage was overflowing at one stretch. Drains were not cleaned and one road was completely tattered. We have repeatedly written to the civic authorities concerned, but received no response. We even kept on sending SOS messages for pumps, but by the time these reached, we had managed to drain water using shovels. Poor civic management led to congestion. The number of drivable lanes reduced due to waterlogging, increasing waiting time for many,” said Gurugram East Zone 4 Traffic in charge Indu. The cops on duty on these roads were seen opening drains with shovels, repairing vehicles and getting these removed using cranes. The police also went on to repair potholes to get few lanes moving.

Despite year-long marathon meetings by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Gurugram Municipal Corporation (MCG) to take proactive measures to ensure proper drainage, Gurugram witnessed waterlogging yet again. Area residents demanded the rechristening of city as ‘Jalgram’ and even suggested it be popularised as the ‘Venice of Haryana’.

“The cleaning of the drains is necessary. We have heard that the MCG and GMDA officials have been meeting regularly, promising monsoons free of waterlogging for five years now, but the situation is the same. It is the failure of the city’s officials,” said senior BJP leader Rao Narbeer. Several parts of Gurugram witnessed traffic blockades on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway.

Waterlogging was reported from Subash chowk, Khandsa Road, NH-48 near Narsinghpur towards Jaipur, Rajiv Nagar, Vyapar Kendra, Sector 31, Sector 40, Sector 56, Golf Course road and the Sohna road. The traffic police also alerted the commuters through its X handle. The traffic police deployed additional personnel to manage the traffic while teams of the GMDA and the MCG put the water pumps at the Rajiv chowk, Hero Honda chowk and Narsinghpur to draw water.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) issued an advisory to residents, urging caution while driving in the rain and limiting unnecessary outdoor activities.