New Delhi/Gurugram: A torrential spell of rain late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning brought Delhi and Gurugram to a grinding halt, submerging roads, paralyzing traffic, and tragically claiming five lives in rain-related incidents across Gurugram. While the rain offered some respite from the summer heat, it also exposed the vulnerabilities of urban infrastructure.
In Delhi, heavy showers that began Wednesday evening left major stretches submerged, from ITO to Old Rohtak Road, NH-8, and Madhuban Chowk. Commuters were stranded in long snarls on roads like Barapullah, Sarai Kale Khan, and the AIIMS–Safdarjung corridor. At the Zakhira Railway Underpass on Road No. 40, severe waterlogging forced traffic diversions. “People are stuck for over 30 minutes just to cross a kilometre stretch,” posted a commuter on X, formerly Twitter.
Shadipur saw bumper-to-bumper congestion till late afternoon, while traffic from Nangloi to Najafgarh came to a standstill. The Delhi Traffic Police issued multiple alerts citing potholes, flooding, and ongoing Public Works Department (PWD) repairs. Areas around Dhaula Kuan, Mahipalpur, and Rajokri experienced kilometres-long queues.
South and east Delhi weren’t spared either. Roads near Ashram, Shalimar Bagh, Shahdara, and Patparganj became untraversable, with many vehicles breaking down in waterlogged lanes. The Delhi government and civic agencies were criticised online for their delayed response and poor drainage maintenance.
Meanwhile, Gurugram faced even graver challenges. At least five people lost their lives in separate incidents linked to the rains, three of them due to electrocution. Among the victims was Akshat Jain, a graphic designer from Delhi, who was electrocuted after coming in contact with a live pole near Ghasola village while returning from the gym. His family has filed a negligence complaint at Sector 50 Police Station.
Another victim, Pawan Kumar from Farrukhabad, was electrocuted near Genpact Chowk, while Prashant, visiting family in Arjun Nagar, died after stepping on an electrified shop shutter. A security officer, Vanshika, died in a car crash near Khandsa due to poor visibility. In the fifth case, Shailendra, an autorickshaw driver, fell into an open sewer covered by floodwater in Sheeshpal Vihar.
Gurugram recorded 133 mm of rainfall within 12 hours, with 103 mm falling in just 90 minutes. NH-48 was clogged with an 8-km-long jam from Narsinghpur to Rajokri. A beer-laden truck fell into a crater on the Southern Peripheral Road but no injuries were reported.
Amid public outcry, authorities advised corporate offices to implement work-from-home policies. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram said, “Required machinery is operational to ensure discharge of storm water,” but drains struggled to cope with the sheer volume.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for Delhi and an orange alert for Gurugram, forecasting continued heavy rainfall. While the downpour cooled temperatures, it also exposed critical gaps in urban drainage and safety infrastructure across NCR.