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Gurugram: What caused roads to flood? Blame it on bad desilting timing, and theft | Gurgaon News

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GURUGRAM: Officials with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were taken aback to see the Rajiv Chowk underpass, which had withstood Thursday’s showers, inundated after a brief spell of rain on Friday.
They inspected, and found out why. A cable that fired up four pumps, which would drain out water from the underpass, had been stolen overnight.
“We turned on the pumps, but they wouldn’t work. On closer inspection, we found that the main cable that provides electricity to the pumps was missing altogether. It appears to have been stolen,” a senior official from the NHAI said on Friday.
It took a few hours to arrange a cable, and the underpass was finally cleared by 2pm on Friday. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has now asked the contractor to file a police complaint.
Next to the intersection was another subway for non-motorised transport (NMTs) such as bicycles and rickshaws that was inundated on Friday.
When asked about this, the NHAI official cited above said this was intentional as “excess water from the Rajiv Chowk junction had been diverted there”. Subways are closed during heavy rainfall for safety reasons.
Though theft was the key reason for flooding at Raijv Chowk, it was poorly timed desilting work that led to waterlogging near Mayfield Garden in Sector 51 of the city.
“We have started some desilting work over there, for which we have to close the drain from inside using plates and other equipment. However, there was a sudden bout of heavy rainfall on Thursday, leading to a sudden gush of water. Our worker inside the drain managed to clear some portion of the equipment so that water could seep out, but he had to then exit because otherwise his life would have been in danger. This led to waterlogging in the area,” a senior GMDA official said.
Now, officials said they have installed two nozzles in the drain to unclog it.
The other critical spots where traffic came to a standstill over the last two days were AIT Chowk and Golf Course Road Extension. In both the areas, officials said, a combination of factors triggered flooding.
Last month, GMDA had planned to create road gullies and water chutes to channel rainwater at the AIT Chowk.
But only one has been laid down, at the main entrance of Suncity township, so far.
“The remaining measures are in the pipeline, but that area sees movement of a lot of vehicles, so undertaking the work is difficult. The task is to be executed by DLF, which is in charge of maintaining Golf Course Road. The builder had given us the proposal as well and they have assured they will undertake and complete the work quickly,” said the GMDA official quoted above.
When asked about Golf Course Road Extension, the authority officials blamed waterlogging on the stretch on potholes and craters on the busy road.
“That road is in very poor condition with innumerable potholes and depressions. Water collects in these and leads to waterlogging,” said the official.
There are currently no plans to carry out immediate repair work on the stretch though a big revamp project is being planned.



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