Almost a year after over 50 mm of rain in four hours wreaked havoc on roads and brought the Millennium City to a standstill, promises made to ensure smooth traffic and prevent waterlogging this monsoon remain unfulfilled.
On July 28 last year, Gurugram witnessed its worst-ever traffic gridlock, leaving thousands of commuters stranded on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway for hours. Twitterati went on to name the monster traffic snarl as “Gurujam”.
This year, fears of a rerun lurk deep. The widening of the Badshahpur drain and construction of a flyover and underpass at Hero Honda Chowk, a perennial waterlogging point that triggers jams on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway every monsoon, are yet to see the light of day.
- The flyover at Hero Honda Chowk on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway is set to miss the revised June 30 deadline. It was slated to be completed in May. Waterlogging at Hero Honda Chowk due to heavy rain leads to massive traffic jams
- The underpass on Hero Honda Chowk may take another six months to complete
- The widening of the Badshahpur drain by HUDA at Khandsa village has been delayed due to delay in land acquisition. Last year, the area had witnessed severe waterlogging
- Check dams, which help contain the flow of rainwater to the city and
- the Badshahpur drain, have not been constructed by the forest department
- The Haryana government is yet to provide 1,000 traffic policemen to the Gurugram police to manage traffic
- Storm-water drains encroached upon and not de-silted at several points in the city
The flyover was expected to be completed on June 30, having already missed the May 24 deadline. Ashok Sharma, project director, National Highways Authority of India, said it would likely be opened to traffic by mid-July.
Arrangements made
However, in case of increased flow of traffic on the stretch during heavy rain, the local authorities have decided to allow two-way traffic on the Jaipur-Delhi carriageway of the flyover.
The underpass, meanwhile, may take another six months to become operational.
Similarly, the widening of the 23-km-long Badshahpur drain, one of the contributors to the monster jam, is far from over. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), however, maintained that adequate arrangements were in place to deal with emergencies.
“It will take at least two-three months to widen the drain. But we have laid temporary pipelines to enhance the capacity of the drain by more than 80 cusecs in addition to its existing 500 cusecs,” said HUDA Administrator, Gurugram, Yashpal Yadav, adding that the capacity of the drain would be enhanced to 2,300 cusecs in the next two years.
Fly over work continue on Hero Honda chowk, in Gurgaon on Monday.
Drain de-silted
Deputy Commissioner Hardeep Singh said the drain had been de-silted to increase its water carrying capacity and sump wells were dug up and sluice gates installed on it to prevent flooding at Hero Honda Chowk, which is traditionally a low-lying area.
“One of the major reasons for traffic jams on the expressway is breakdown of vehicles. To tackle this, we have deployed cranes at all major intersections. We also hold regular meetings to identify solutions to flooding,” said Mr. Singh.
The Gurugram police have also identified around 20 traffic-prone points in the city. “These are mostly intersections on the expressway and the connecting roads. Staff will be deployed at these points round the clock to manage traffic,” said Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar.
The widening of the Badshahpur drain and construction of a flyover at Hero Honda Chowk, a perennial water-logging point that triggers jams on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway every monsoon, are yet to see the light of the day.
Regular meetings held
He further said that the police department held regular meetings with the agencies concerned for better co-ordination and discussing infrastructure-related issues.
“We have also sought a mechanism for early warning on rain,” said Mr. Khirwar.
The department, however, is yet to get the 1,100 traffic personnel promised by the then Haryana Director General of Police K.P. Singh soon after the monster jam last year.
“We have a sanctioned strength of only 183 traffic police personnel for the district, but have withdrawn staff from other duties to deploy 360 police personnel in the traffic wing. We, however, have to still press staff from police stations for traffic management in case of rain,” said Mr. Khirwar.
The proposal to build check dams and recharge wells to prevent rainwater running off from the Aravallis and causing waterlogging in Gurugram is also waiting to be cleared.
Relief pours in
- The Badshahpur drain, spanning from Ghata to Najafgarh, de-silted to increase its water carrying capacity. Last year, there were massive traffic jams due to overflowing of the drain
- All rainwater harvesting pits de-silted
- Major waterlogging points identified and the status of storm-water drains discussed
- Temporary pipelines laid to increase the capacity of the Badshahpur drain at Khandsa village by 80 cusecs
- Around 20 intersections identified as choke points and staff deployed in these areas
- Thirty suction pumps and tankers stationed by the National Highways Authority of India on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway
- Sump wells dug up and sluice gates on Badshahpur drain installed to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas around Hero Honda Chowk
- Cranes deployed on the expressway to tow away vehicles that break down
