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12 hours on, Gurugram stretches remain waterlogged after overnight rain: Locals
Gurugram received 75mm rain till 8am, with Kadipur and Harsaru recording 83mm each, while MCG said 71km of drain desilting remained pending.
Overnight rainfall exposed the claims of civic agencies that water would no longer accumulate on Gurugram’s roads, with several stretches remaining waterlogged even 12 hours after the rain stopped, locals said, highlighting persistent drainage issues and raising questions over desilting claims.
According to the district administration, Gurugram recorded 75 mm of rainfall till 8 am on Saturday. Kadipur and Harsaru recorded the highest rainfall at 83 mm each, followed by Wazirabad at 69 mm, Badshahpur at 62 mm and Sohna at 55 mm. Meanwhile, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Gurgaon NorthCap University monitoring station logged 13.5mm till 8.30am on Saturday.
Waterlogging was reported at Tulip Chowk 60-metre road, Airia Mall stretch on Sohna Road, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk underpass and NMT area, Sector 66 service road, Civil Hospital Road, Sector 10A, parts of Sectors 9, 14 and 15 (part 2), and Narsinghpur.
Anil Kumar, a resident of Sector 69, said Tulip Chowk has faced waterlogging even during light showers. “This has been a recurring problem for years. Parts of the road are also in a poor condition. Every time it rains, the stretch gets waterlogged and remains submerged for hours until the water is pumped out,” he said.
The stretch near Euro International School in Sector 10 and Civil Hospital Road remained waterlogged hours after the rain. HT had earlier reported that desilting work on these stretches was pending.
Reema Khatri, a commuter, said waterlogging persisted on the Sector 10 stretch at 11 am. “The water had risen to knee level, making it difficult for commuters and motorists to pass through the stretch,” she said. “If you talk about waterlogging in Gurugram, I feel this is the worst-affected area,” she said.
Savita Devi, a Sector 46 resident, said while desilting was carried out in several areas, silt, garbage and dust had again choked the drains. “In many areas, we saw desilting being carried out, but the silt, garbage and dust soon choked the drains again,” she said.
Residents said the corporation usually deploys suction tankers and pumps at vulnerable spots within an hour to clear accumulated water. Severe waterlogging near Airia Mall on Sohna Road disrupted traffic. The stretch has remained a hotspot for several years, locals said.
According to data accessed by HT, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram had desilted 475.85 km of stormwater drains from April till end of July, while at least 71 km remained pending, despite missing deadlines between May and July.
In response, a senior MCG official, requesting anonymity, said pumps had been deployed to clear the affected stretches. The official added that tenders for the remaining desilting work had been floated again and the work was likely to begin by the end of August or in September.
Meanwhile, a Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) official said a sub-divisional official visited Tulip Chowk to oversee the deployment of staff and workers to pump out accumulated water. “Our teams were deployed at areas where water had accumulated since morning to ensure that commuters were not disrupted,” he said, asking not to be named.
The IMD has issued no weather alerts for Gurugram for the coming days. The minimum temperature was 25°C and the maximum 34.7°C on Saturday.
Gurugram recorded an average air quality index (AQI) of 67 on Saturday, compared with 133 on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily national bulletin data at 4pm, marking its first “satisfactory” day since August 16.
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