Heavy rains lash Delhi, Gurugram, Noida; people face water-logging, traffic, power cuts across NCR region

New Delhi: Submerged underpasses, waist-deep water on roads, fallen trees and electricity poles gave the residents of Delhi and its satellite cities of Gurugram and Noida a rough time on Wednesday as heavy rains started pounding the national capital and its adjoining areas since early morning. Throughout the day, people and vehicles waded through waterlogged roads to reach their destinations and traffic moved at snail’s pace in many places. Seven cars were damaged after the boundary wall of a school in Saket in south Delhi collapsed apparently due to the heavy rain, police said. The IMD had issued an orange alert for Delhi-NCR for the day. At many places cars were submerged under water. The situation was particularly bad in Gurugram where rainfall flooded the roads, giving the semblance of small rivers. The most striking was the inundation of the underpasses on the posh Golf Course Road where water filled the carriageways on both sides of the road stretch — touted to be aesthetically among the best in the country. In a video posted on social media, residents of a gated locality at Sohna Road could be seen using an inflatable boat to traverse a flooded passage. Gurugram deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said in a span of a few hours, the city had received 130 millimetres of rain. Sohna Chowk, Sikanderpur, Golf Course, Himgiri Chowk, Bilaspur Chowk, and the roads towards Delhi and Jaipur reported water-logging, according to Gurugram Traffic Police officials. Power cuts during the rain in some areas amplified the problems of residents, particularly those working from home, and home delivery services were also impacted. “There was a power issue in my locality in Sector 15 of the city. Working from home was not feasible because the laptop’s battery was draining. I left for a friend’s house on my motorcycle but the water-logged roads were a real threat,” IT professional Vaibhav Yadav, 28, told PTI. In Delhi, waterlogging took place at different locations in areas including Kirari, Burari and Rohini, the North MCD said. Trees fell at seven different locations and at eight places, parts of buildings collapsed due to rain, the North MCD said. There were power cuts in some parts of the city. “Despite the heavy rain today, the power supply was smooth in the city. However, in a few areas, the power supply was switched-off for short durations either due to water-logging or tree branches falling on power lines. This was done for safety considerations,” a BSES official said. On the road, vehicles moved bumper to bumper during the morning rush hours, as the downpour led to heavy waterlogging on key road stretches. According to the Delhi Traffic Police, waterlogging was reported at BRT near Central School, Badarpur to Ashram, Badarpur flyover underpass, Sarita Vihar flyover underpass, Dhaula Kuan towards AIIMS carriageway, Moti Bagh flyover underpass, MB Road near Batra Hospital, Palam Flyover and Chhata Rail. Other areas, including Mayur Vihar Phase-2, Sarai Kale Khan to DND, Sashi Garden to Kotla, Seemapuri to Dilshad Garden underpass, MB Road at Maidan Garhi, MB Road at Anuvrat Marg, Apsara Border also reported water-logging. Similar was the situation in Noida. Many road stretches and residential areas were submerged in water. Residents also complained of water entering basements of high-rise buildings. Many people took to social media to share pictures and videos of the rain fury, with ankle to knee-deep water at certain places. Some residents also alleged mismanagement of the problem by government agencies. Water-logging also impacted commercial sectors of 62 and 63, 10, 12, 32 as well as several villages in Noida, while large swathes of low-lying open grounds were inundated. Meanwhile, the flooding in Gurugram invited criticism from the Opposition. Senior Congress leader and former Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala took to Twitter to take a dig at the M L Khattar-led BJP led government in the state. “The Millennium City Gurgaon, Oops ‘Gurugram’ in Khattar Rule! And we are naive enough to think that ’name change’ is panacea for all ills in BJP Rule!!!,” tweeted Surjewala. “The city has come to a standstill, roads are submerged under water, imagine what would be the state of subways. Gurugram is never prepared for rains,” said Nidhi Shukla, a Gurugram-based architect, expressing anger over the situation. Keerti Uppal, another resident of Gurugram, said the situation was so bad in opulent areas that it was hard to imagine the state of interior Gurugram where the infrastructure is not highly developed. “If it is known as cyber city, it cannot be floating every time it rains for an hour,” she added. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the India Meteorological Department, said Delhi recorded moderate rains till 5:30 pm and more rain is likely in the next 24 hours. Srivastava said the axis of monsoon will remain close to the national capital till Thursday. Therefore, more rains are likely. Southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea and southeasterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are also feeding moisture to the region, he said. The downpour also reduced the rain deficiency in the capital – from 13 per cent on Monday to 11 per cent on Wednesday. The Safdarjung Observatory has recorded 147.4 mm rainfall against the normal of 165.2 mm in August so far