Heavy rains cause chaos in Gurugram

According to the district administration, Gurugram received 110 mm of rainfall, which was classified as a “heavy” spell by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Additionally, Gurugram recorded two “very heavy” spells of rainfall, recording 30 mm of rain between 9.30 am and 10.30 am and another 39 mm between 10.30 am and 11.30 am.

Weather experts also shared data from several localities in the city, most of which recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall. Of these, Sector 51 recorded 124.4 mm of rainfall, which was the highest.

IMD officials attributed the heavy rains to a low-pressure zone that formed over Haryana and Delhi due to a cyclonic circulation.

As streets flooded and storm drains clogged, vehicles began to crawl on the roads, leading to severe traffic jams across the city. Commuters also experienced nightmares as vehicles broke down on flooded streets.

“The rain submerged key junctions and service lanes, leaving vehicles stranded and commuters wading through knee-deep water. To ensure the safety of commuters, authorities have closed several flooded underpasses, metros and roads, including near Sector 38 and roads in DLF Phases 1 and 3, Sectors 4, 5, Palam Vihar and Suncity Township,” said Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54.

IMD officials have issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Mewat, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Jhajjar on Monday. There is an additional warning of heavy rainfall that is likely at isolated places in Haryana from Monday to Thursday. Moreover, an advisory was earlier issued for heavy rainfall in Gurugram, Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Faridabad on Sunday, it added.

Surendra Paul, Station Director, IMD Chandigarh, said, “We also have a monsoon trough, a low-pressure system that brings rainfall under normal conditions. It was earlier active towards the foothills of the Himalayas, but it has moved south and entered the plains, due to which we have been seeing good rainfall activity in the last 24 to 48 hours,” Paul said.

He added that a system of moist winds from the Bay of Bengal had recently become active and intensified, contributing to the rainfall.

“Rainfall in south Haryana and areas bordering Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) is likely to continue for the next three to four days, after which there is likely to be a decrease in rainfall followed by an increase in rainfall,” Paul said.

On Sunday, Gurugram recorded a maximum temperature of 30.7 degrees Celsius (°C) and a minimum of 26.9°C. The air quality index (AQI) measured for Gurugram on Sunday was in the ‘satisfactory’ category (97).

Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said rescue teams have been deployed across the city to cope with the situation. “We have deployed cranes and police vans at key stretches to help with vehicle breakdowns and our teams are working round the clock to pump out water from the flooded areas,” he said. Yadav urged residents to avoid potholed roads and venture out unless necessary.

Siddhant Jain, deputy commissioner of police (south), said they have deployed teams at all key stretches to help commuters. “We have barricaded the underpasses. The areas are waterlogged and the condition will improve once the rain stops. Till then, all civic agencies are doing their best,” he added.

“Following the overnight downpour, many blocks in Sushant Lok 2 and 3, which were under the MCG for two years, were facing severe waterlogging with water seeping into villas and apartments. Despite efforts like cleaning storm water drainage lines and connecting them to the main grid, the problem persists. Blocks near Golf Course Extension Road and Rajesh Pilot Marg are particularly affected due to water flowing in from the surrounding areas. The lack of natural flow of storm water requires frequent disaster management,” said Sudakshina Laha, member, residents’ advisory council, GMDA and general secretary, RWA, Sushant Lok 2 and 3.

Commuters’ Nightmare

The situation was equally grim on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, where commuters had major problems crossing the Narsingpur section as both the main carriageway and service lanes were flooded. “I was stuck on the expressway for almost two hours. I had to push my car through the flooded area,” said Raghav Sharma, a commuter from Delhi to Gurugram.

Residents expressed frustration over the city’s drainage system, which they said was not equipped to handle such heavy rainfall. “We were scheduled to travel to Jaipur but had to cancel our plan as the roads were completely inaccessible,” said Sunil Verma, a resident of Sushant Lok.

Ajay Sharma, a member of Tulip Ivory Residents Welfare Association in Sector 70, criticised the builders and the administration for the recurring waterlogging issues. “Over the years, the builders have been neglecting to desilt the drains and even after the MCG took over, there has been little improvement,” she said.

Many residents expressed their anger on social media and shared photos of flooded roads. “Storm drains are clogged with garbage and plastic. Every year, it’s the same story — flooded roads and water seeping into our homes,” said Baljeet Singh Rathee, president of DLF Qutub Enclave Residents Welfare Association (QERWA).

Many people took to social media to share photos and videos of flooded roads and expressed their frustration with the administration.

Residents regret flooding

Dinesh Vashisht, president of Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA), sectors 3, 5 and 6, said water had entered several houses in the area as de-silting had not been carried out in the sector despite repeated complaints. “The sector is flooded and over 50 houses have suffered property damage as water entered bedrooms and living areas. The water is knee-deep and people are unable to step out of their homes unless they use pumps to clear the colonies. We are fed up with waterlogged conditions in this sector,” he said.

At least 20 two-wheeler riders and cyclists sustained injuries as they were unable to spot potholes on the roads, with several of them losing their balance and falling on Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 69, Sector 5, Basai Road, Sohna Road, Hero Honda Chowk and Narsingpur.

MCG Commissioner Narhari Singh Bangar said the flooding was due to heavy rainfall and not due to blocked drains or lack of machinery on the stretches. “Entire MCG teams were deployed on the stretches and pumps were used to remove excess water. Manholes were opened to control the flow of water and tractors were parked to avoid any mishap but due to heavy flooding. We went around the city to check if there was any major problem due to negligence of any official section or contractor but the teams were dealing with the flooding by standing knee-deep in water for the last 12 hours,” he said.

“In Gurugram, heavy rains and flooding were reported at Medanta Road, Sector 23, Mayfield Garden, Narsinghpur, Old Delhi Road, Subhash Chowk,” said Vikram Singh, executive engineer, GMDA.

Administrator on standby

In response to heavy rains that caused severe flooding in Gurugram over the weekend, the district administration is on high alert. On Sunday, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav personally inspected critical areas across the city to ensure public safety and supervise ongoing drainage work.

During the inspection, the DC was accompanied by representatives of the MCG and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

After the city received 110 mm of rainfall, Yadav visited several key spots like Rajiv Chowk, Medanta Road, Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sushant Lok Phase 1, Galleria Market T-Point Red Light, Old Delhi Road at Comrade Babru Bhan Yadav Marg and others to assess the situation.

Yadav said the district administration has already prepared for such an eventuality by identifying 112 critical flood-prone spots in the city. “To manage these areas, 14 HCS-level officers have been assigned the responsibility, with each of them supervising seven to eight locations. Thanks to the administration’s preparedness, all underpasses remained operational on Sunday and there was no significant accumulation of water on the main carriageway of NH-48,” he said.