Once bitten twice shy: Gurgaon agencies take swift action

From nationwide shame and brickbats to accolades and applause from the public in a month, administrative and civic agencies in Gurgaon came a long way in handling waterlogging and snarls after a downpour on Wednesday.

The handling of the situation after rain on Wednesday as well as Monday made social media users compare the coordinated efforts of the agencies in Gurgaon with that in Delhi.

“Won’t question your Mai Baap @arvindkejriwal on Delhi jam? Except (a) few Gurgaon residential colonies No Jam (here)” tweeted Naresh Sehgal, a local resident after Wednesday’s downpour.

Another user Srinivas Hariharan tweeted, “Gurgaon is at least working hard and successfully fire fighting this. Strong intent there. Delhi a mess, it seems”.

Though the water pumps of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were operated late in the morning, the situation was brought under control as senior officials rushed to Hero Honda Chowk, the trouble spot, that had led to massive jams during the rain on July 28 and 29.

NHAI officials said some pumps were short of fuel and so it took some time to start them.

On July 28, no senior official from the agencies had taken stock of the situation at the chowk, leading to massive waterlogging and a 20-hour jam.

Officials and staff of the Municipal Corporation Gurgaon (MCG), Gurgaon police, Haryana urban development authority and NHAI kept a strict watch on the water level at Hero Honda Chowk and the traffic flow since morning.

A total of 27 water pumps located at various places were used to clear water. About 1,100 police personnel were stationed at various junctions to regulate the traffic.

Ten towing vehicles, four small vans and 15 high-capacity water pumps were pressed into service at Hero Honda Chowk.

Deputy commissioner and MCG commissioner TL Satyaprakash said the administration had promised not to let a repeat of the July 28 mess take place.

“It rained heavily but the situation was controlled. We will work to find out a permanent solution to waterlogging,” he said.

Chief governance coordinator Gurgaon SN Vashisth said the problem spots were identified after the July 28-29 mess.

“Now administrative apparatus is fully geared to meet all eventualities. Constant monitoring of situation is being done,” he said.

While officials kept in touch through WhatsApp, the public was informed about the situation through microblogging site Twitter by MCG, Gurgaon police and the Huda administrator.

Gurgaon police Twitter handle released an advisory to “be patient and maintain lane discipline” as soon as it started raining. MCG Twitter handle also tweeted about handling waterlogging problems and asked people to contact the call centre on 18001801817.

Sanu Kapila, president of Nirvana Country Residents’ Welfare Association, applauded MCG’s efforts on Tweeter. “Great job. No waterlogging in Gurgaon. Your hard work showing results TL Satyaprakash,” he tweeted.

“Salute to you guys for this effort. All the best,” tweeted a user Tushar Ranjan in response to police’ efforts.