Gurugram cleared of waterlogging as rains stop; IMD predicts drier days ahead

After three days of intermittent rain, the city on Sunday witnessed overcast skies with no rainfall reported throughout the day. The respite from heavy rain helped authorities to clear major roads and junctions of waterlogging. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Chandigarh, the chances of rain in Gururgram and south Haryana are expected to reduce from Monday due to receding cloud activity. Rainfall recorded in the last 24 hours till 8.30am on Sunday was 41 mm, IMD data revealed.

“The rain was brought by moisture-laden clouds from the Bay of Bengal which is now withdrawing,” Manmohan Singh, director, IMD Chandigarh, said. Three days of intense rains ensured that Gururgam district received ample rainfall in September which stood at 282.5mm till Sunday. The district has received 593.7 mm of rain, 22% more than normal, during the entire monsoon season,” Singh added.

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The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on Sunday morning said that the heavily waterlogged Narsinghpur stretch on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway was cleared. However, residents of a number of internal sectors and colonies continued to face troubles with potholes, damaged roads and accumulated rainwater.

According to residents, the city has not witnessed such intense and long spells of rain in the past several years. “It rains in September but I have never seen such heavy rainfall at this time of the year in the past. It points to climate change and also the lack of preparedness in managing rainwater. It is much relief that the rain has stopped now else the city would have faced more problems,” said Pawan Kuwar, a resident of Palam Vihar.

Residents of several colonies such as Sectors 4, 46, and 44, along with Sushant Lok 1 and adjoining areas complained of waterlogging and damaged internal sector roads. Sector 4 residents shared pictures of damaged vehicles on social media and asked authorities to take remedial action.

Due to heavy waterlogging on Saturday, a road cave-in was also reported on Pataudi Road, where a small stretch was damaged. Intense rain in the last three days also led to a road cave-in at Iffco Chowk, among some other areas in the city.

GMDA officials managed to clear waterlogging on the national highway and other areas including Mayfield Garden. They said that the dewatering exercise was aided by the rain stopping at night. According to Vikram Singh, executive engineer, Infra II division, GMDA, the authority managed to remove a wall that was built on a stormwater drain for desilting purposes. “This wall proved a major obstacle and was causing waterlogging in the entire stretch from Mayfield Garden to Subash Chowk. We removed the wall on Friday night and the problem was resolved. Water at Narsinghpur has also been cleared,” he said.