Sunday’s rain brought relief from the sweltering heat but once again exposed Gurugram’s drainage vulnerabilities, with Old Gurugram bearing the brunt of waterlogging and prolonged power outages disrupting life in several parts of the city.
Rain began as early as 7 am in several parts of the city and continued intermittently through the morning. By around 10.30 am, the showers had intensified in many areas and continued till nearly noon, leaving several roads and residential pockets inundated.
Sector 10 emerged as one of the worst-hit areas, while waterlogging was also reported from Sectors 4, 7, 7 Extension, 9 and 9A and adjoining colonies. Khandsa Road, Pataudi Road and several stretches in Old Gurugram were also affected.
At several locations, water accumulated up to nearly a foot, slowing traffic and leaving two-wheelers and e-rickshaws stranded. Water entered internal roads and low-lying residential pockets, while commuters struggled through flooded stretches.
Though Sunday’s relatively light traffic prevented the kind of gridlock usually witnessed during weekday rain, the waterlogging once again raised questions over the city’s monsoon preparedness.
The rain also triggered power disruptions. Residents in several areas complained of outages lasting hours, with Khazur Colony in Farrukhnagar reportedly going without electricity for around 18 to 20 hours. Several Gurugram neighbourhoods also faced outages of seven to eight hours, affecting water supply, household work and the use of air-conditioners and coolers.
Teams of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) remained on their toes and on the roads throughout the rainfall, deploying pumps, tractor-mounted pumps and suction tankers.
MCG said dewatering operations were carried out at Madanpuri Road, Surat Nagar, near the railway station, Basai ROB and Behrampur Road, among other locations. Its monsoon control room monitored complaints through CCTV cameras, field teams and officials.
In Sector 10, where major water accumulation was reported, MCG said a newly constructed stormwater drain near Alpine School and the GMDA bus stand had been connected to the master drain. The civic body claimed the new link helped rainwater drain faster.
GMDA, meanwhile, deployed manpower and machinery in Sectors 9/9A, 21, 22, 23, 43, 50, 51, 57 and 72/73, besides Narsinghpur and Khandsa. Teams cleaned road gullies and removed silt and obstructions from drainage inlets.
GMDA CEO P.C. Meena said engineering teams remained on continuous alert. The authority claimed that key stretches, including Subhash Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk-Umang Bhardwaj Road, Sheetla Mata Road, Atul Kataria Chowk and parts of SPR, remained free of major waterlogging following recent drainage improvement works.
