Gurugram: Tuesday's four hour-long downpour in Gurugram saw the city receive 128 millimetres of rainfall, adding well to the showers that lashed the city earlier this year.
However, despite the decent amount of rainfall, Gurugram is still unable to tackle the problem of its fast depleting groundwater reserves.
It took over 24 hours to reopen the newly-constructed underpasses in Gurugram for traffic, as water had filled till heights as close to 20 feet.
Monsoon water, which can be used to replenish groundwater resources, is being wasted not only due to the city's poor drainage system but also due to the depleting bundhs, created during the British Raj.
Most bunds have now become extinct and the remaining ones continue to be in a state of neglect. Among the 460 ponds spread across Gurugram district, 208 have dried up, while 186 are dirty whose water cannot be utilised.
After the fiasco in 2016, where a mere 55 mm rainfall caused an 18 hour-long traffic jam at the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, the Haryana government undertook a series of measures to prevent such disasters in the future. Besides expediting construction of underpasses and flyovers at various intersections of the National Highway-8, there were also plans to extend the Badhapur drain, the work of which has finally started.
However, most water sources leading to main drain have been encroached upon.
Moreover, in spite of a court-ordered ban against digging of illegal borewells, there are more than 15,000 such structures in Gurugram. In most of the areas in the city, groundwater levels has fallen to as low as 50 metres.
A recent survey by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) revealed that over 180 of the 300 water harvesting pits under its jurisdiction are lying defunct.
Even though the Chief Minster announced that steps will be taken to recharge the city's water bodies, the process is yet to gather steam.