Rain brings along waterlogging, power outages to Gurugram - Hindustan Times
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Rain brings along waterlogging, power outages to Gurugram

ByKartik Kumar and Suparna Roy, Gurugram
Jul 13, 2021 11:21 PM IST

According to a weather report issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday evening, Gurugram received 51.6mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. As per the district-wise season rainfall status of Haryana issued by the IMD, the normal rainfall range for Gurugram during the monsoon, till mid-July, is 110.8mm, which indicates that the district is still suffering from a 61% deficit in rainfall for the season. Officials of the IMD predicted that the rain will intensify over the weekend

Several parts of the city were waterlogged while a few localities suffered power outages following three hours of rainfall on Tuesday morning, as the first spell of the monsoon hit the Millennium City. Areas around Rajeev Chowk, Subhash Chowk, CH Bakhtawar Singh Road, sectors 9A and 10, Shivaji Park and Basai Road were the worst affected.

Waterlogging on a stretch near Hero Honda Chowk on Tuesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)
Waterlogging on a stretch near Hero Honda Chowk on Tuesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The underpasses in the city as well as the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, which were inundated following spells of rain over the past few years, largely remained unaffected.

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According to a weather report issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday evening, Gurugram received 51.6mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. As per the district-wise season rainfall status of Haryana issued by the IMD, the normal rainfall range for Gurugram during the monsoon, till mid-July, is 110.8mm, which indicates that the district is still suffering from a 61% deficit in rainfall for the season. Officials of the IMD predicted that the rain will intensify over the weekend.

Even as the rain started around 7am and subsided by 10am, accumulated rainwater in the affected areas receded only by 1pm. In Basai Road, Sector 10 and CH Bakhtawar Singh Road, water accumulated up to the knee level, with civic agencies scrambling to resolve the issue.

Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) cited localised factors for waterlogging in these areas. “The problem with both Basai Road and Sector 10 is geographical, rather than an inherent drainage issue. They are among the lowest points in the city, due to which rainwater from higher points of Gurugram accumulates there in high quantities. Using motorised pumps and pressure machines, we were able to channel rainwater out of these areas in a few hours after rains subsided,” said Ramesh Sharma, superintending engineer of the MCG.

Before the start of the monsoon, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), MCG and the district administration had identified 113 locations across the city that were susceptible to waterlogging.

Sharma said that joints teams of MCG and GMDA officials were deployed at the waterlogging-prone points, with motor pumps, suction tankers and bucket machines, to ensure that rainwater recedes within 30 minutes after rainfall subsides.

At Subhash Chowk, opposite the Sadar police station, the carriageway leading to Bakhtawar Chowk was also heavily inundated. A team of MCG officials could be spotted opening a manhole at the spot, after which rainwater receded quickly.

The civic agencies, in their joint drainage plan, had identified problem areas for both Rajiv Chowk and CH Bakhtawar Singh Road. At Rajiv Chowk, especially near the Mini Secretariat area, there is an absence of a proper drainage outlet and temporary pumps have been installed in the area to mitigate waterlogging, said officials, while at CH Bakhtawar Sing Road, estimates for the proposal for laying stormwater drain between CH Bakhtawar Singh Road and Sohna Road is under process.

The GMDA and MCG, in their report, stated that they will take up the engineering work in September after the monsoon.

“I could see heavy rainwater accumulation along CH Bakhtawar Singh Road from my house and decided to use Sohna Road instead to head towards Delhi. However, even at Rajiv Chowk, there was rainwater accumulation. Fortunately, I was able to pass the stretch without my vehicle stalling,” said Anand Rungta, a resident of Sector 47.

Officials of the GMDA said that waterlogging was reported only from a few places in the city, with water receding from the roads within 15-20 minutes after the rain. “We a received a complaint of waterlogging only from Sector 9A on Tuesday and that was also because of an issue in the sewerage line. There is a sewage treatment plant in that area, where an electrical failure was reported, due to which the sewage line was shut for over an hour. Due to this, sewage water was overflowing, but stormwater was drained out within 15-20 minutes after the rain stopped on Tuesday morning,” said a senior official with the infrastructure-II division of GMDA.

The Gurugram traffic police issued alerts on social media, cautioning commuters about waterlogging on CH Bakhtawar Singh Road, Basai Road and at Rajiv Chowk, and advising them to avoid these stretches.

“Around 1,100 traffic police officials were deployed across the city, with a focus on waterlogging points. All our staff were at their respective locations before the rains started. Due to the low volume of traffic, following the second Covid-19 wave, we were able to divert traffic without much hindrance and there were no major snarls anywhere in the city,” said Ravinder Singh Tomar, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

Power outages were also reported in several parts of the city, including sectors 40, 48 and parts of Old Gurugram, where residents alleged that supply was cut from 7am till noon. “As soon as it started raining, there was a power outage. We were informed that a local transformer had developed an issue due to which power supply had been cut. Electricity only returned around 2.45pm,” said Akshay Yadav, a resident of Sector 48.

A senior official of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), said, “A tree had fallen on the 11kv overhead power line in Sector 40, while in Sector 48, a private agency was carrying out cable work and the underground electric cables were affected. Both of these were fixed by early afternoon and power was resumed.”

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