6 years after Gurujam, rerun fears still lurk

GURGRAM: Two days of monsoon showers and rare triple digit rainfall 143mm in 26 hours showed the city's drainage problem remains, many therapies on, a chronic one, with the spectre of a derailment never too far away when the weather turns inclement.
In the past 48 hours, nervous residents feared stepping out of homes. Those who had to were unsure if they would be able to reach workplaces in time, lest they are marooned on a waterlogged road or get stuck in snarl stretching several kilometres and hours. A work from home advisory and orders to close schools were pre-emptive steps that helped tide over Friday.
But Thursday night's snarl on the Manesar stretch of the Delhi-Jaipur highway, the flooding at Narsinghpur through the past 48 hours and pockets of the city -- Golf Course Road Extension and AIT Chowk, for example -- going under had already driven home the extent of the problem and the cascading effect it could have on bust weekday traffic.
Despite all the drainage upgrades that have been taken up in the aftermath of the monster 'Gurujam' of 2016, the city still has 112 critical waterlogging points. Most of these hotspots are on or around the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, which runs through the spine of the city. With the volume of traffic that flows through it, the slightest disruption can create a gridlock. The stormwater drains can channel out water in two hours if they work properly, but that seldom happens because they get easily clogged.
A combination of topography - the difference between the highest and lowest point in the city is 90 metres, with hills on one side and a depression on the other - poor planning and destruction of the natural drainage systems make tackling heavy rain a serious challenge in the city. "Poor planning, construction of roads and residential colonies have obstructed the natural flow of rainwater in the city. The bunds that were constructed to hold water and the Ghata jheel were also destroyed because of urbanisation," a senior official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.
The Gurujam shock, when the city remained gridlocked for nearly a whole day, had led to the initiation of a series of steps to ensure water drains out after every spell of rain. The Badshapur drain was widened near Hero Honda Chowk, which was Gurujam's epicentre, and internal drains were built and connected, a process that continues. Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said different teams had been assigned responsibilities to manage the 112 hotspots. "Plans have been made in advance and officials assigned roles to manage these points," he added.
Through the past two days, traffic cops worked hard to keep the city moving, at times in knee-deep water. "All our traffic personnel were on the roads, senior officers included. Vehicles were on the move, slowly though," DCP (traffic) Virender Singh Sangwan said.
The assurances notwithstanding, residents said they felt the jitters every time they needed to step out of home after a spell of rain. Subham Mishra, a resident of Sector 84 who has to travel almost daily on the expressway to reach his office in Udyog Vihar, said heavy showers always bring back memories of 'Gurujam'. "I can see people working hard to keep the traffic moving. But the jitters of stepping out are always there. Timely notices of work from home by the administration help," he added.
In the flood control order for 2022-23, the district disaster management authority attributed waterlogging to the heterogeneous topography of the city - hillocks, valleys, land-locked depressions and undulating terrain. Rajesh Bansal, the GMDA chief engineer, admitted Narsinghpur was a problem area. He pointed out that rainwater from the Aravalis and sectors collects at Narsinghpur since it is the lowest point of the expressway. "Pumps are installed in the area to drain out water through the year. During monsoon, additional pumps are pressed into service," said Bansal.
The topography of the city is such that water from the Aravalis, Rajokri, DLF areas, Golf Course Road, Sohna Road and the Southern Peripheral Road flows to the other side of the highway - Sector 10, Old Gurgaon, Sheetla Mata Road and eventually the Najafgarh drain.
Since the expressway acts as a barrier, there are multiple points where the water accumulates - like Sector 31, Medanta, Narsinghpur and Manesar.