Fresh rains on Thursday caused heavy waterlogging and a flood-like situation on multiple stretches and areas in Gurugram as the city recorded 395 mm of rainfall till 5 PM.
A traffic gridlock stretching over seven kms was seen near Hero Honda Chowk, as one side of the Hero Honda flyover had been closed from Wednesday due to repairs, leaving several commuters stranded for hours. The rain only compounded the traffic problem. The rain started at around 12.15 P.M. on Thursday and it turned into a heavy downpour till 5.00 P.M.
In six hours of rain, nearly 70 per cent of the city was submerged in an average of three feet of water with the worst-hit areas being Signature Tower Chowk, Ram Chok (Udyog Vihar), Narsinghpur (NH-48), Haldiram towards Manesar, Basai Road, Nathupur, Z Chowk near Huda City Centre Metro Station, Bilaspur Chowk, Dronacharya Metro Station, Iffck Metro Station, Galleria Market Road, Good Earth Mall, Mayfield Garden Chowk, Sector-12 Chowk, Mini Secretariat, Sector-21/22 T-point, Medicity T-point and Sheetla Mata Road. Residents and vehicles were seen wading in knee-deep water as multiple stretches across Gurugram turned into small rivers. There was bumper to bumper traffic as vehicular movement on several stretches was painfully slow due to waterlogging.
Gurugram residents took to social media to describe their anguish and held local authorities responsible for the huge mess. They shared their experiences and posted photos of flooding and traffic jams. However, officials claimed that efforts were on to clear the water. "Vehicle flow is smooth in larger parts of Gurugram so far though there is vehicle slowdown reported at some locations. Our traffic personnel have been directed to continue their duties until rain and traffic flow are normalised. There is no jam reported so far," ACP Traffic said.
Apart from this, certain pockets received heavy rainfall and waterlogging was reported on a few sites such as Mayfield Garden, Artemis Road, Sheetla Mata road, one side carriageway of Hanuman Chowk, Narsinghpur and Hong Kong bazaar on SPR stretch. "Team has been deployed for clearing of water chutes and road gullies at all locations. At Artemis Road, the water level is gradually receding. Pumps have been activated at Sheetla Mata road and Narsinghpur to address the waterlogging. All underpasses were free of any water accumulation and open to traffic," said Vikram Singh, Executive Engineer, Infra 2 Division.
