Gurugram wakes up to rivers instead of roads

gurugram: The fresh spell of heavy rains that lashed the National Capital Region starting early Tuesday morning hit "millennium city" Gurugram hard as the satellite city woke up to rivers instead of roads in main parts of the urban hub.

In just a few hours, the city had received 130 mm of rain, which had also left three underpasses waterlogged, Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh told reporters.

Having already achieved the dubious distinction of being called Guru-Jam owing to lakhs of vehicles being stranded due to waterlogged roads, the city made sure that it lived up to its unpopular tag.

With rainwater filling up to the depth of three to four feet at various busy points of the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, a massive jam of up to 20 kilometres built up. Worst affected spots included Shankar Chowk, IFFCO Chowk, MDI Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Chowk, Khandsa Chowk and NarsinghPur. The commuters in the city also complained of how they had no choice to leave their cars as the water level in areas like Narsinghpur had come up to dangerous levels.

If the situation at Delhi-Gurugram Expressway was a matter of embarrassment for Gurugram Public Officials the deplorable conditions at Golf Course Road added to more shame. The underpass at Golf Course Road was shut for traffic after 30 feet of rainwater filled it up. Even residential complexes were flooded. Residents of Sector-10, South City, and Sector-46 complained that rainwater entered their homes. As powerhouses got flooded, power supply at several areas of DLF Phase-1, Chakkarpur, Sector-28 and Sushant Lok was disrupted for several hours.

Several stretches of roads and residential areas in Noida were also submerged in water after Wednesday's early morning showers.

Residents also complained of water entering basements of high-rise buildings.

Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari said on Twitter that residents can call the round-the-clock helpline number - 0120-2423795 - for early resolution of waterlogging in their area.

Her tweet came a day after the Noida Authority's board approved a budget of Rs 4,640 crore for the ongoing fiscal year. The funds are to be used for development works, among others, according to officials.