Heavy rains leave Noida roads waterlogged, traffic crawls

The city traffic was brought to a crawl on Wednesday morning after heavy rainfall caused waterlogging in several parts of Noida and Greater Noida.

Seeing the situation, traffic police also issued an advisory on social media platforms alerting commuters that traffic in Kulesara, on Noida-Dadri Road, at Labour Chowk and Expo Mark underpass, in Shahberi Village, and on GIP Road in Sector 38 will be affected by waterlogging.

Among the places that became inundated and waterlogged following the downpour on Wednesday include Sector 12, Sector 19, 20, 22, 37, Sector 62, 63, 95, 122 Parthala, and DND loop, among others.

Vipul Yadav, a resident of Sector 27, said, “Riding in Noida after rainfall is a trial as the entire city is inundated, which causes traffic congestion everywhere.”

Several people posted videos on social media platforms, showing people navigating through knee-deep water on roads.

“On Wednesday, around 10am, when I was going to work, I got stuck in traffic near the Botanical Garden due to waterlogging,” said Yadav, adding that, “traffic police were spotted clearing the traffic, but when all the drains are choked, how can someone clear the traffic on a waterlogged road?”

SP Singh, deputy general manager, Noida authority, said, “Due to heavy flow in the irrigation drain, rainwater overflowed and inundated areas. All drains in the city have been cleared, and we are continuously checking to prevent waterlogging.”

On July 1, the Noida authority also introduced a toll-free helpline number, 0120-2423795, for residents to report waterlogging. This helpline will remain active until August 31, said officials.

An official from the control room said, “The control room had received six complaints of waterlogging from Sectors 10, 12, 21, and 31 on Wednesday.”

According to RP Singh, deputy general manager, Noida authority, “The city saw waterlogging in some low-lying areas. To address the problem, we have installed 32 sump wells to clear the waterlogging.”

Waterlogging was reported from Botanical Garden, Sector 18, 19, 95, 44, 62, Surajpur, Kulesra, and low-lying areas of the city.

Ashutosh Singh, inspector (traffic), said, “Due to potholes and waterlogging on the Botanical Road, traffic was moving slow from 8am to 11am. Traffic police identified potholes and carried out temporary repairs to prevent accidents. Traffic was also diverted in some places after underpasses got flooded.”

The IMD, on Wednesday issued a yellow alert (be aware) till July 26, for the Delhi-NCR. The maximum temperature in Noida was 31 degrees Celsius while minimum temperature stood at 25 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

The IMD has predicted similar weather conditions in the district till July 31, with possibility of spells of rain and thunderstorms while both minimum and maximum temperatures hovering around 24 and 30 degrees Celsius, respectively.

RIVERS CONTINUE TO BE IN SPATE

Meanwhile, floodplains of the Hindon and Yamuna have been inundated as the rivers are in spate. The district administration had been issuing advisories to people staying in vulnerable areas over the past 10 days as a precaution after the rivers overflowed and entered many low-lying areas. As water level in the rivers again started to increase since Saturday, the people are being urged to vacate the area.

On Wednesday, water level in the Yamuna, at the Okhla barrage, stood at 198.25 metres and its danger level is 200.60 metres.

In Hindon, at the Ghaziabad barrage, the water level was at 201.15 as against the 201.10 metres recorded on Tuesday. The danger mark in the Hindon is 205.80 metres.