Heavy showers cause water-logging, power cuts as Gurugram’s rain plan called into question

Retreating monsoon took its toll on Gurugram once again on Sunday, causing water-logging, leaving commuters stranded, and triggering power cuts across the city. On Monday morning, floodwaters had not yet receded from parts of Sushant Lok, Golf Course Road, Gwal Pahari, Palam Vihar, and Sectors 28, 29,15 and 38, among others. Power supply too was affected in several areas.

While disgruntled residents aired their frustration on social media, authorities maintained that the situation this time saw some improvement, when compared to previous years. Officials said this was the result of coordinated efforts between the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), Gurugram traffic police and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

V Umashankar, CEO, GMDA, said, “Certain areas which were problematic earlier, such as Hero Honda Chowk, are less of a concern now,” he said. “On Sunday, we received about 75mm rain, but traffic did not grind to a halt, nor was the underpass shut.The ‘Gurujam’ in 2016 was the result of just 54mm of rain. Hence, despite the increase in the quantum of rain, we managed to avoid such a situation.”

Umashankar attributed this to the presence of 40 automated pumps, which NHAI authorities had installed all across the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway in anticipation of the monsoon. The pumps, which clear up to 7,200 litres of water every minute, had been strategically placed at the newly built underpasses at Rajiv Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Signature Towers and Hero Honda Chowk. The maintenance of the underpasses was subsequently handed over to the GMDA. “On August 28, however, the underpasses were flooded and I feel we should have done a better job of avoiding that,” Umashankar said, adding that there is still a lot more work to be done in fixing problems of urban flooding.

GMDA has identified various vulnerable areas this year, which will be tackled in time for the next monsoon. These include Genpact Chowk, areas near Medanta hospital, Sector 15, Sector 28. A GMDA committee report on improvements and persisting issues at Hero Honda Chowk, which were observed this year, will be submitted this week. “Following this, a thorough post-mortem will be carried out for the administration to take stock of the situation,” Umashankar said.

However, he also warned that the problem of waterlogging isn’t about to disappear. “We need open spaces to fix that, and in Gurugram, practically every available buffer has been constructed over,” he said. “Our focus will be on getting the water to flow out within four hours, for which the drainage issue needs to be solved.”

At the MCG house meeting earlier this month, commissioner Yashpal Yadav announced that the corporation has issued Expressions of Interest to contract agencies for restoration of Gurugram’s storm water drains. “Agencies will be empanelled soon and regular restoration work will ensure that the drains are cleared by next monsoon,” Yadav had said. This announcement followed an order by the National Green Tribunal seeking restoration of the city’s drains.

First Published: Sep 25, 2018 04:15 IST