Downpour chokes Gurugram, Delhi; 5-km long jam at Hero Honda Chowk
Nine hours of incessant shower threw life out of gear in Gurugram on Tuesday. The 130 mm of rainfall, started around 1 am, was the highest in the last 8 years. It drowned the Millennium City and traffic crawled on waterlogged roads, giving harrowing times to morning commuters.
The national Capital too bore the brunt of the heavy rain that triggered the usual traffic jams in South, East and Central Delhi. Waterlogging was reported in Devli, Vayusenabad, Sangam Vihar, at GTK towards Mahendra Park, Inderlok Chowk towards Zakhira near underpass, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Rama Road and at the roundabout between Windsor place and Dr Rajendra Prasad Road.
Commuters on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway and other major stretches in Gurugram were stuck in traffic for hours. It took motorists six hours to cross the 17-km stretch from Delhi-Gurugram borders to Kherki Daula Toll.
Gurugram’s major roads like Hero Honda Chowk, Signature Tower, Rajiv Chowk, Huda City Centre Road and more were submerged in rainwater. A vehicle disappeared in the rainwater in the Hero Honda Chowk underpass, which witnessed 5-km jam.
Jharsa Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Shankar Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Sohna Road, Golf Course Extension Road, the main Sohna Chowk, Maharana Pratap Chowk, Atul Kataria Chowk, IMT Manesar Chowk, HUDA City Centre station, Sukhrali Road, old Delhi-Gurugram Road, Sector 30 underpass, Sector 22-23 Road, between Jawala Mill and Dundahera and service lane of the eastern side of the highway too witnessed the same troubled times.
Many residents in Gurugram took to social media platform to vent their ire against the district administration and posted pictures and videos of vehicles and people wading through waist-deep rainwater.
“We got a lot of support of volunteers through their feedback and active duty on the ground. Some inconvenience was caused due to delay and traffic congestion and District Administration regrets the trouble we faced in the morning,” said Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram, Vinay Pratap Singh.
“We have improved upon our city infrastructure in last three years, which kept the city running even during the heavy downpour. We will learn from our experiences and ensure that areas and junctions which experienced waterlogging, can be improved upon for future,” Singh added.
On the other hand, the police department has done a commendable job during and after the rainfall as 2,500 police personnel including Station House Officer (SHOs) were deployed across the district to ensure the stretches remained clear.
“The reason behind the massive jam was heavy rain. Waterlogging on the road slowed down the traffic. An Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank officer will keep an eye on traffic movements. Senior officials and highway inspectors checking expressway traffic all the time,” said Heera Singh, ACP (traffic).
Meanwhile, officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) claimed that the Badshahpur drain is overflowing which cause waterlogging in and around the Hero Honda Chowk.
“Badshahpur drain is overflowing, pumped water is flowing back. This is due to inadequate outflow downstream towards Khandsa village. Until the Badshahpur drain recedes, pump operation is ineffective. However, all the pumps are functional. Time of clearance of waterlogging depends upon receding of the main Badshahpur drain,” said Ashok Sharma, Project Director of the NHAI.
The Meteorological (Met) Department has forecast more rain through the day and relative humidity at 100 per cent in Delhi. “The Palam observatory recorded 101 mm rainfall, Lodi 22.2 mm, Safdarjung 49.6 mm and Ridge 6.8 mm,” said an official from the Met department.
“Waterlogging and a huge congestion were observed in Mayur Vihar, Palam, Dhuala Kuan, Bhairon Enclave in Punjabi Bagh, Moti Nagar flyover and between Mundka and Rajdhani Park. Traffic was affected near Narela Mandi due to an uprooted tree,” said a Delhi traffic police.
“The whole day was hectic for me due to rain. I come from Gurgram and go to Dhaula Kuan but I could not reach the class on time as I got stuck in the heavy traffic. Moreover, I took the Metro to attend the class early but the Metro too was overcrowded and the train was coming with a 15-minute gap,” said a student of a Delhi University college.
With the heavy rain in the night, the National Capital also saw a very humid weather during the day hours. “The maximum temperature in Delhi is expected to reach 31 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature would be 26 degrees Celsius,” added the Met department official.
Further, the Delhi Traffic Police was constantly helping out the commuters with the directions and took its Facebook and Twitter handle to inform the people about the waterlogging and gridlock in the city.
Heavy traffic jam took place from RTR T point to Airport 2 Mahipalpur Market (both carriageways), near three Vasant Valleys School, 4 Andheria Mor to Vasant Kunj due to waterlogging. Waterlogging, blockage of drain at Captain God road at Okhla Mandi gate number one and two were reported.
