Civic agencies' claims fall flat as rain inundates Gurugram roads

Gurugram, Sep 6 (IANS) Although heavy downpours in Gurugram on Friday provided some respite from the summer heat, the claims of civic agencies regarding monsoon preparedness have fallen flat as waterlogging was reported from various parts of the district.

Over six hours of rain led to waterlogging in all main markets of Old Gurugram, National Highway-48, Narsingpur Chowk, Mahavir Chowk, HUDA Complex, Railway Road, New Railway Road, Sector 4-5 Road.

In some places, the water also entered shops and houses while vehicles, especially four-wheelers, got stuck in the middle of roads due to waterlogging.

Two-wheeler riders were seen wading their bikes through the water. The accumulation of water forced several people at various markets to shut their shops.

Sanjay Siwan, a resident of Subhash Nagar, said it was unfortunate that the authorities had not learnt any lesson from the previous year when the rains had flooded several low-lying areas in the city not once but several times during the monsoon season.

"Waterlogging across the city clearly indicates that only paperwork has been done in the name of desilting of the drains and cleaning of sewers. The arrangements by the authorities to drain out rainwater have proved insufficient," he added.

Pankaj Dawar, a local Congress leader, said, "When a few minutes of rain can wreak havoc in Gurugram, guess what would happen if the rain continues for hours? The district authorities still have some time to take vital steps to curb the repetition of the previous year's situation when the water remained accumulated in many localities for a long time leading to inconvenience to people."

According to data from the district administration, Gurugram City recorded 28 mm of rain between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. The data also showed that Wazirabad saw the maximum rainfall of 45 mm, Badshahpur (11 mm), Sohna (25 mm), Kadipur (32 mm) and Harsaru (32 mm).

Waterlogging was also reported at several key junctions, including Sectors 30, 31, 40, and 15, Police line, Near Gurugram MLA office, Bus Stand Road, Sheetla Mata Road, Hero Honda Chowk, Basai Chowk, Khandsa, Sohna Road and Subhash Chowk, which resulted in traffic snarls.

Internal sectors and colonies such as Sectors 10, 9, 10A, 29, 39, and 47, Palam Vihar and Greenwood City also had flooded streets with rainwater entering some of the houses.

In some areas, even on the expressway, pedestrians had to wade through knee-deep water.