Flooded roads, powercuts: Short spell chokes Gurugram again

GURUGRAM: The city received fresh monsoon showers on Saturday evening as rains lashed several parts of the national capital region (NCR). While the rains did bring relief from the sultry weather, heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds once again brought back the city's perennial problems—inundated stretches, traffic tailbacks and power pangs.
Several areas in the city reported acute waterlogging. One of the worst-hit places was, once again, the service lanes of the 3km stretch between Narsinghpur and Kherki Daula on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway. According to the cops and locals, within minutes of downpour the stretch was inundated. Even though seven suction pumps were deployed in the area — five by NHAI and two by GMDA — they struggled to divert the rainwater down the stormwater drains.
Till late in the night, vehicles bonnet-deep in the turbid water formed long queues that progressed at a snail’s pace. Even at a time when traffic is significantly low, this congestion led to frustrating delays on the road. Many of the intersections were flooded, creating numerous choke-points.
Pedestrians and cyclists found themselves wading through muddy expanses after just a short spell. Locals, who are now used to the regular waterlogging in the area, expressed their displeasure with the civic bodies for not taking any conclusive decision to fix the problem.
“This stretch is a low-lying area. Every time it rains, sewage overflows while the rainwater is not properly channelised. This makes the spot most vulnerable for waterlogging. Pumps are not the solution. Rather, a comprehensive drainage system that connects the sewers and drains of nearby residential localities with the master drains should be planned,” complained Suresh Singh, a resident of the area.
Similarly, knee-deep waterlogging was reported from Surya Vihar where bikers were spotted dragging their two-wheelers to avoid hitting any underlying potholes. The brief period of rainfall stoked fears among residents of a repeat of last month’s flooding when the entire city was inundated and roads turned into waterways, power cuts lasted through the day, medical procedures at hospitals had to be postponed, and online classes and virtual meeting had to be called off.
Officials, however, claimed that they were better prepared this time around, and no major instance of waterlogging was reported from the major junctions.
“Only the service lanes near Narsinghpur saw waterlogging. All the major roads and carriageways were largely unaffected. None of the underpasses saw any flooding nor did water enter houses this time. We were better prepared and more high-capacity pumps were used. And the service lanes or the stretch between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bharadwaj Chowk were also mildly impacted. The pumps were able to clear these stretches on time,” said a GMDA official.
With the flooding came power outages as the rain, once again, damaged the power infrastructure. In areas like Sushant Lok, people were without electricity for long hours. The powercut disrupted online work and classes for many of the residents.
DHBVN, sticking to its routine reply, blamed the rains and winds for damaging the 11 kV power lines and electricity poles. While the officials claimed that they swung into action and trying to resolve the issue swiftly working on ground, residents complained that they were forced to make peace with the blackout for hours.