Heavy rain heaps misery on commuters as Gurugram roads get waterlogged - Hindustan Times
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Heavy rain heaps misery on commuters as Gurugram roads get waterlogged

ByAbhishek Behl and Leena Dhankhar
Sep 22, 2022 11:44 PM IST

The city traffic police shared frequent updates on their social media handles asking commuters to avoid waterlogged and congested areas. But that was not enough to rectify the situation as sveeral areas witnessed kilometres-long snarls

At least 10 spots in Gurugram were gridlocked for hours on Thursday as incessant rain led to waterlogging in those areas. According to weather experts, it started raining heavily around 5am Thursday and continued till 2pm, after which it became a drizzle that persisted till late evening, throwing traffic into a disarray throughout the day.

Commuters faced snarls and slow moving traffic in several areas owing to waterlogging. Several private offices in the city asked employees to leave work by 4pm to ensure that they don’t get stuck in jams, while others asked employees to work from home on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)
Commuters faced snarls and slow moving traffic in several areas owing to waterlogging. Several private offices in the city asked employees to leave work by 4pm to ensure that they don’t get stuck in jams, while others asked employees to work from home on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The city traffic police shared frequent updates on their social media handles asking commuters to avoid waterlogged and congested areas. But that was not enough to rectify the situation as sveeral areas witnessed miles-long snarls.

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According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gururgram received 55mm of rain till 5pm Thursday, while neighbouring Wazirabad tehsil received 60mm of rain. Kadipur and Harsaru received 54 mm of rain each, while Manesar received 50 mm of rain till 5.30pm Thursday.

The weather department said the district received heavy rain on Thursday and its intensity will reduce on Friday.

“Nearly heavy rain was seen in Gurugram on Thursday but it is expected to reduce from Friday. A low-pressure zone over the Bay of Bengal has moved towards eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, causing rain in many parts of Haryana and Punjab on Wednesday and Thursday,” said Manmohan Singh, director, IMD, Chandigarh.

According to traffic police, congestion was reported from Caterpuri Road, Sector 15, Hero Honda Chowk, Hanuman Chowk, Sector 21, 22, Sector 18, Basai Chowk, Expressway near Narsinghpur, Iffco Chowk, AIT Crossing, Sector 49, Sector 51, Golf Course Extension Road, Sohna Road, and the road dividing Sector 17 and 18.

Several areas such as Udyog Vihar, Narsinghpur, Southern Peripheral Road, AIT crossing on Golf Course Road, Sheetla Mata Road, Palam Vihar, Jwala Mill on Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road and others witnessed waterlogging, traffic officials said.

Commuters faced snarls and slow moving traffic in several areas owing to waterlogging. Several private offices in the city asked employees to leave work by 4pm to ensure that they don’t get stuck in jams, while others asked employees to work from home on Friday.

Mohit Kapoor, a daily commuter to Manesar, said it took him more than two hours to reach Sohna Road on Thursday afternoon due to traffic and waterlogging. “The 6km stretch was congested and vehicles were at a standstill. The situation was bad despite police deployment,” he said.

Commuters also said the closure of a carriageway of the Hero Honda Chowk flyover further worsened the situation as National Highway 48 was gridlocked.

Manjeev Aggarwal, a resident of Tatvam Villas on Sohna Road, said the road connecting the Golf Course Extension Road and the Delhi-Jaipur highway has knee-deep potholes that got inundated. “The entire Golf Course Road stretch was severely congested. Vehicles were stuck and people were driving on the wrong side, trying to use the service lane which caused even more jams. Heavy vehicles were also using the stretch and there was no one to manage traffic for more than an hour,” he said.

However, traffic police insisted that adequate personnel were deployed at key points to manage vehicles. Virender Singh Sangwan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gurugram, said 600 personnel were deployed across the city, along with police teams especially at spots where waterlogging is frequent.

“The entire traffic force was on road on Thursday, including all senior officers. We managed traffic at key points and ensured that no one faced any major issues,” he said.

Sangwan later observed that vehicular flow was smooth in most parts of Gurugram with slow moving traffic reported from only a few locations. All traffic personnel have been directed to continue on duty till the rain ceased and traffic flow is normalised, he said.

According to the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), certain areas witnessed waterlogging. However, the authority maintained that the situation at the usual trouble spots was under control; there was no waterlogging in underpasses as well.

“Teams were deployed for clearing water chutes and road gullies at all locations where waterlogging was witnessed. The water level receded gradually on Artemis Road. Pumps were activated on Sheetla Mata Road and Narsinghpur. All underpasses were free of water accumulation and open to traffic,” said Vikram Singh, executive engineer, Infra 2 Division, GMDA.

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