Rain exposes civic body’s lack of preparedness

With the civic authorities lagging behind schedule in cleaning drains in different parts of the city, the pre-monsoon shower on Monday led to chaos on roads. Overflowing drains and waterlogged roads were a common sight across the city.

The areas worst affected by waterlogging were low lying parts of the city such as Udyog Vihar, Palam Vihar, sectors 29 and 23, Atul Kataria Chowk, Maharana Pratap Chowk, Sheetala Mata Road and parts of Sohna Road.

Both sides of NH-8 and Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road were also severely waterlogged and there were long snarls.

“It was impossible to reach my car parked right across the road opposite our house because of all the water,” Tanvi Khanna of Essel Towers, said.

Most cases of waterlogging were because of rainwater overflowing from clogged drains, residents said.

An official of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon said that the delay in cleaning drains was because of the civic body’s decision to not outsource work to private contractors. The decision pushed back the cleaning process by a few weeks and much of the work is still incomplete with the monsoon round the corner, the official said.

But even in areas where the MCG and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) had completed the cleaning exercise, drains were clogged with silt and garbage. This resulted in excess waterlogging in Sector 7 and Palam Vihar.

The situation was the worst at Palam Vihar. Residents said rainwater and overflowing sewage mixed and there was a small stream flowing on the road.

“The roads near Sector 23 were waterlogged to the extent that it seemed as if they had turned into canals. I could have rowed a boat here,” Prerna Razdan of Palam Vihar said.

Last week, MCG acting commissioner TL Satyaprakash had directed the civic authorities to procure water pumps and heavy machinery through private agencies to manage storm water drains.

Satyaprakash had also issued a flood control plan and directed various civic agencies to undertake last-minute measures apart from installing water pumps on priority basis in urban areas that are prone to flooding. These areas include NH-8, Sector 72, Hero Honda Chowk, Sheetla Mata Chowk, Ghata and Sector 5.

The rain also led to power outages. At sectors 4, 7 and 15 and DLF Phase 2, electric poles were uprooted because of strong winds. Power supply in these areas was disrupted for at least three hours, residents said.

“All disrupted lines were repaired within an hour after receiving complaints and the power supply resumed,” Amit Kamboj, executive engineer, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), said.

Many residents said they could not register complaints on DHBVN’s toll free number 1800-180-4334.