Heavy rains bring Gurugram to a halt

Gurugram, July 9

Having received its highest rainfall in around a decade, Gurugram came to a standstill today with waterlogged roads, flooded residential areas, power snags and collapsed online delivery system. The district collectively received around 250 mm of rain.

Two men died after jumping in a village pond at Gairatpur Bass village today. The duo believed to be drunk jumped in the pond that was overflowing due to rain. Only one body could be retrieved till the filing of this report.

While the civic authorities managed to keep the recently identified hotspots in check like Naurangpur or Delhi-Jaipur Highway, two underpasses after being filled with water were shut.

Waterlogging was reported from Rajeev Chowk, Subhash Chowk and the stretch from Subhash Chowk to Hero Honda Chowk, Sector 30/31, Sector 10, near Umang Bhardwaj Chowk, Sector 23, among others.

As per the directive of the district administration, all non-motorised transport was closed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) during the monsoon season till further notice.

The situation was same in Faridabad. With more rain forecast for Monday, the administrations of both districts have ordered closure of schools in Gurugram and Faridabad on Monday. Residents have been asked to work from home.

Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav has appealed to residents not to leave their houses, except for essential work. Issuing advisory to companies based in the city, Yadav has asked them to resort to work from home except for those involved in essential services.

“Since Sunday morning, Gurugram experienced heavy and continuous rainfall and there is a prediction for heavy rainfall tomorrow (Monday) as well. The significant rainfall and the continuous forecast raise concerns regarding waterlogging, tree falling and disruption in civic amenities in several areas of the district.

“While civic authorities are actively working to address the situation, it is essential to exercise caution and minimise travel during such conditions as waterlogging can disrupt the smooth flow of traffic and pose risks to public safety. All corporate offices and private institutions in the district are advised to guide their employees to work from home on July 10 so that traffic congestion can be avoided and repair/restoration of civic amenities can be carried out smoothly by government agencies,” read the advisory.

“All remedial measures are being taken up to provide relief to the residents and maintain safe traffic movement on the city roads. All government departments concerned are closely coordinating with each other,” said CEO GMDA PC Meena.

In Faridabad, apart from schools, all coaching centres will also remain closed on Monday, the district administration said. DC Vikram Singh has appealed to employees of all private institutions to work from home.

The Faridabad administration has also cancelled holidays of officers and employees of all government departments including the district administration, municipal corporation, HSVP, Smart City FMDA, Irrigation Department, Public Health Department and ordered them to stay in the headquarters for the next three days.