Heavy rains bring Gurugram to a standstill

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, August 11

Heavy rains lashed Gurugram causing massive waterlogging and traffic jams in several areas of the city on Sunday. Over 200 mm of rain, primarily in the Wazirabad area, exposed the tall claims of the state government, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

Roads, underpasses, residential societies and even homes were flooded. Many areas experienced power failures, prompting residents to take to social media to highlight their plight.

Among the worst-affected areas were Golf Course Road, Huda Metro Road, Narsinghpur along NH-8, Sheetla Mata Mandir Road, Khandsa Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and Medanta Road. The internal roads of Sectors 9, 10, 15, 31 and 38 were also deluged.

Thankfully, as it was Sunday, there was no major traffic, but due to VIP movement in the city and massive potholes, many areas still experienced bottlenecks. The entire traffic police force was on the roads, removing damaged vehicles, clearing drains and even filling potholes. The GMDA shut down the Medanta underpass as the drainage pumps failed to work due to a power outage. Similarly, there was a stormwater drain breach in Sector 23, which affected nearby sectors. The Sushant Lok area was the worst impacted during this rain, as it flooded once again, causing damage to houses and cars worth crores.

‘Lost all hope’

We have no words left to even complain. We have lost all hope. They couldn’t even do the basic task of cleaning the drains before the monsoons and have no ready measures for providing immediate relief. — Sushant Lok Resident Welfare Association

“We have no words left to even complain. We have lost all hope. They couldn’t even do the basic task of cleaning the drains before the monsoons and have no ready measures for providing immediate relief. It’s a failure of the civic agencies and the state government,” said a statement issued by the Sushant Lok Resident Welfare Association. While MCG and GMDA officials were on the field trying to drain the water, it took several hours for many areas to be cleared.

Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav toured the city to review the situation and, speaking to The Tribune, said, “The city has received heavy rainfall, and areas with known drainage issues were inundated. However, we managed to drain the water as quickly as possible. There was no major traffic congestion. We have already asked the officials of the worst-affected areas to report on the reasons behind this situation.”