A spell of rain in the afternoon wreaked havoc in the city, causing waterlogging, and winding traffic snarls across major roads and localities. Among the worst affected areas were Iffco Chowk and MG Road metro stations, DLF Phase 2, AIT Chowk, Old Delhi-Gurgaon road, Jwala Mill road, Sikanderpur power house and Basai village. The underpass at MG Road was also flooded, rendering it out of use for more than an hour. Damaged trees and electricity poles were also reported from DLF Phase 2.

However, officials said that this situation did not last very long due to the low volume of rain. According to an official release by the district administration, the city received only 2mm of rainfall as of 5pm. Gurugram traffic police routinely issued alerts about waterlogging on Twitter, in addition to deploying traffic management teams in affected areas. A traffic constable at Iffco Chowk said, “We have been in constant touch with the control room and are getting additional support for traffic management. We have been instructed to send updates to the control room frequently to help with quick responses.” 

Saurabh Singal, a consultant with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that the flooding did not happen due to local rainfall, but Aravalli run-off coming from the ridge beyond Sikanderpur and Nathurpur areas, where the volume of rainfall was higher. “The road surface around the underpass has also been milled for renovation, which means the tar cover has been removed,” Singhal said. As a result, the surface collected more rainwater. “However, our four automatic pumps, two of 20 horsepower and two of 16 horsepower, were effective at pumping the water out and restoring the flow of traffic through the underpass very soon,” Singhal added.

This is the fifth day since July 4, when Gurugram received 82mm of rain, that showers have thrown a wrench in the city’s traffic flow. Citizens expressed concern over whether the administration would be able to cope with the situation in the coming days, with the India Meteorological Department predicting thundershowers and generally cloudy conditions till at least July 27. Rajeev K, a resident of Sushant Lok, who was stranded in traffic near Iffco Chowk for more than 30 minutes on Sunday, said, “In just a little bit of rain, the citizens feel like they are marooned. The authorities still have some time to at least address issues at some key locations, which might make a difference. Otherwise it looks like we are in for the usual chaos that happens every monsoon.” 

First Published: Jul 22, 2019 00:45 IST