Third rain spell in a week leaves Gurugram residents in despair

Residents of Gurugram woke up to heavy rainfall on Friday morning. The downpour began around 6.45 am and continued for about three hours.

28 mm  rain in city

‘Waterlogging is a serious issue’

Waterlogging is a serious issue. Every time it rains, knee-deep water accumulates in our area, affecting our businesses. We have no option but to shut shop during heavy rains. — Aman, a street food vendor

The India Meteorological Department had already issued a yellow alert for Gurugram, Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region on Wednesday. This was the third spell of rainfall this week, once again exposing the city’s infrastructural shortcomings, which led to widespread waterlogging and long traffic jams on major roads.

In many areas, people were seen wading through knee-deep water, while in parts of Wazirabad and a few other localities, the water level rose as high as chest-deep. Schoolchildren, labourers, industrial workers and office employees faced significant challenges in reaching their destinations.

Motor vehicles crawled through waterlogged streets. Some commuters were stuck in long traffic jams, while others were seen pushing their bikes through the water.

Naureen Naaz, a housewife from Jal Vihar Colony, said she had to request a neighbour to drop her five-year-old daughter to school at 7.30 a.m. Despite the challenging conditions, it was essential for her to attend school for her monthly examinations.

Pappu, a tea vendor in Pace City-1, lamented that waterlogging has been a persistent problem in Gurugram for many years. He criticised the civic authorities for failing to address the issue, alleging that local politicians and officials make false promises every year but have done little to solve the problem.

Rajesh Ghera, president of the Residents’ Welfare Association of Surya Vihar, Sector 21, one of Gurugram’s oldest housing societies, located on the Gurugram-Delhi border in Dundahera, alleged that rains bring numerous problems for residents.

He explained that a drain on the other side of their society’s boundary wall, which falls within Delhi’s jurisdiction, often remains clogged and is rarely cleaned. As a result, rainwater sometimes flows back into their society. Ghera noted that in 2022, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority approved a budget of Rs 4 crore to construct a 400-m stretch of drain and connect it with an existing drain in Delhi. However, the project is yet to be initiated.

Aman, a street food vendor in Sector 38, said, “Waterlogging is a serious issue. Every time it rains, knee-deep water accumulates in our area, affecting our businesses. We have no option but to shut down during heavy rains.”

Aditya Sharma, a resident of Sector 46 who works as a delivery man with Blinkit, shared that he often has to stay home even after the rain stops because waterlogging makes it impossible to deliver goods safely. “In the past two months, my earnings from deliveries have decreased by 50 per cent due to persistent waterlogging during the rains,” he added.

The traffic police struggled to manage the situation during the morning rush hours. In some areas, particularly at Bakhtawar Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk, traffic lights malfunctioned, making it even more difficult for the police to control the “unruly” traffic.

There were also reports of power outages in parts of Sector 56, Wazirabad, Jharsa, Kanhai, Sector 10A, Samaspur and a few other areas during the morning hours. Power was later restored in the day.

A spokesperson for the Gurugram Municipal Corporation said that men and machinery were deployed at Rajiv Chowk, Khandsa, Hero Honda Chowk, Millennium City Centre, Subhash Chowk, Pataudi Road and several other areas to pump out water from the roads. At the underpass on Hero Honda Chowk, MC employees stacked sandbags on one side to prevent rainwater from flooding the underpass.

Gurugram recorded 28 mm of rain on Friday morning, with Wazirabad witnessing the maximum rainfall at 45 mm, followed by Badshahpur at 11 mm, Sohna at 25 mm and Kadipur at 32 mm.