On Tuesday, the underpass became waterlogged and had to be closed to commuters
Five days after Gurgaon’s Hero Honda Chowk underpass went under water, following 128 mm of rainfall — the highest the city has received in eight years — Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited the structure Sunday morning and said measures will be taken to ensure such a situation does not recur.
“During rains, it is normal for roads to need repairs. We have given directions in all cities that once the monsoon ends, roads should be repaired and all pending infrastructural work should be completed,” said Khattar.
Last week on Tuesday, the underpass was waterlogged, with “40 to 50 million” litres of water accumulating inside it. It had to be closed to commuters. The underpass was re-opened over 48 hours later on Thursday morning, after the water was drained out with the help of eight fire tenders and eight pumping sets.
Officials had attributed the waterlogging inside the structure — constructed at a cost of Rs 46 crore and inaugurated less than three months ago — to the overflow of the Badshahpur drain, and failure of “autostart pump sets” installed inside the structure. While the latter had worked during the mock tests earlier this year, they failed to function on Tuesday, said officials.
Khattar acknowledged that the city’s drainage system may have been ill-equipped to deal with the high level of rainfall, but promised the situation would be rectified.
Gurgaon: CM Khattar launches 25 non-AC buses
Twenty five new low-floor, non-air conditioned buses began plying in Gurgaon Sunday, after Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar flagged off “Gurugraman”, Gurgaon’s City Bus Service, from the city bus depot in Sector 10.
According to officials, in the first phase, the buses will cover major junctions, including Basai Chowk, Atul Kataria Chowk, IFFCO Chowk and HUDA Bus Terminal, covering a total distance of around 25 km. “New routes and, consequently, vehicles, will be added to the service each month until March 2019, and a total of 453 bus queue shelters will be constructed for commuters,” said Khattar. “Of these, 150 have already been completed and are ready for use. Five bus depots will also be constructed,” he added. (ENS)