30 minutes of rain submerges Gurgaonroads

GURGAON: Around half an hour of rain on Friday afternoon was enough to wash out the claims of civic agencies that they were monsoon-ready. The rain, which started around 1.30pm, left many streets across the city waterlogged.
With flooded service lanes and filthy water also coming on to the main carriageway at some points, Hero Honda Chowk, as usual, was the worst hit.This resulted in slow-moving traffic for most part of the day.
Besides, sewage water was also found overflowing in places like Sheetla Mata Mandir Road, Golf Course Road, Rajiv Chowk, Udyog Vihar Phase III, Sector 40 and Miyanwali Colony.
Sheetla Mata Mandir Road was totally inundated with sewage and the foul smell made matters worse. Cyclists and pedestrians had a tough time crossing this road. As the road is right in front of Lt Atul Kataria School, it has made it difficult for students to cross the road. "No one wants to stop by my shop because of this mess. The monsoon gives me the worst days in terms of business." said a shop owner on Sheetla Mata Road.
In new Gurgaon, the extremely busy MG Road and Golf Course Road were badly hit. While traffic was reported to be moving at a snail's pace on MG Road, sewage water came on to the Golf Course Road as roadside drains directly opened into the gutters. All this happened within a period of 20 minutes, when it rained.
"Rainwater drainage hasn't been given much importance for a long time. When there is no place for the water to seep into, it gets logged and eventually flows into the low-lying areas of the city. Authorities had ordered construction of drains on the roadsides, for water to easily flow into the gutters, but this plan hasn't really worked out. Rainwater that flows into the gutters in turn results in flooding the sewers. As a result of this, sewage water is flowing out into the roads at several places," said a resident.
When contacted, Y K Garg, superintending engineer, MCG, downplayed the incident and said that it would take some time for rainwater to seep through stormwater drainage. "The drainage system is functional in 80% of corporation areas," he said.
Sectors 4, 7, and 9 have been perennially prone to waterlogging as these areas lie at a lower level than the neighbouring sectors. As a result, all the water from Sector 5, Bheemngar, Sector 10, and Sadar Bazar flows into the sector and fills the streets.
"I can't go to the market on %my Scooty as, at some places, the water is 2 feet deep," said Punam Sharma, resident of Sector 4. The parking area in Sector 4 HUDA market is always flooded during the monsoon.