Gurgaon: Traffic moved at a snail’s pace near Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk and stretches of Golf Course Extension Road, with long queues building up during peak office hours.While vehicles remained stranded, heavy overnight rain submerged roads and disrupted traffic across Gurgaon on Thursday. Several areas witnessed severe waterlogging during the morning rush hour.Waterlogging was reported from Udyog Vihar, HUDA City Centre, Sheetla Mata Road, MG Road, Laser Valley Road, Sector 9 Road, Sector 10, Raheja Atlantis in Sector 31, the road outside Ansal and the main dividing road opposite AIPL Joy Street in Sector 67 and Bestech in Sector 66 leading towards Sohna Road.Even as commuters battled inundated roads, India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned that light to moderate rain would continue through the day, with heavy rainfall likely at isolated places in the district on Thursday and Friday.According to the district administration’s rainfall report for the 24-hour period ending 8am on Thursday, Sohna recorded the highest rainfall at 110mm, followed by Gurgaon tehsil (97 mm), Kadipur (74 mm), Harsaru (74 mm), Wazirabad (55 mm) and Manesar (54 mm). Lower rainfall was recorded in Badshahpur (13 mm), Farukhnagar (7 mm) and Pataudi (6 mm).IMD data showed the city’s minimum temperature settling at 24.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning. While the department’s observatory in the city recorded no rainfall till 8.30am, the automatic weather station at NorthCap University measured 57mm during the same period, reflecting significant spatial variation in rainfall across the city.Rain began around 2am and continued through the morning, severely affecting the office commute. “Roads across several parts of the city were submerged, forcing vehicles to crawl through flooded stretches while several cars and two-wheelers broke down,” said Pawan Yadav, a commuter at Sector 85.In Sector 45, a small goods carrier was seen stranded in bumper-deep water, while a motorcyclist cautiously navigated the inundated stretch. Sheetla Mata Road had floodwater covering almost the entire carriageway, forcing pedestrians and motorists to wade through the water.“The water level was so high that vehicles were barely moving. What normally takes 30 minutes took well over an hour,” said Satya Narayan, a commuter travelling through Udyog Vihar.A resident of Sector 31, Ram Nivas, said, “Water accumulated outside Raheja Atlantis within hours of the rain. Every monsoon, the same locations get flooded. Despite repeated complaints, the drainage problem remains unresolved.”IMD’s tehsil-level nowcast, issued at 6.38 am and valid till 9.38 am, had forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and moderate rain over Gurgaon and Sohna, along with gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.In its 12.30 pm state weather bulletin, IMD said light to moderate rainfall is likely at most places in Gurgaon, Mewat, Palwal, Faridabad, Rewari, Jhajjar and Mahendragarh on Aug 6 and 7, while heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning is likely at isolated places, including Gurgaon, during the two-day period.The weather office attributed the active spell to a monsoon trough extending from Firozpur through Rohtak, Shahjahanpur, Kanpur and Daltonganj before reaching the northeast Bay of Bengal, along with a western disturbance persisting as a trough in the middle and upper tropospheric westerlies. These weather systems are expected to keep rainfall activity active over Haryana.IMD’s seven-day outlook indicates that light to moderate rainfall is likely at many places across Haryana on Aug 6 and 7, with heavy rainfall expected at isolated locations during the two days. Rainfall activity is expected to decrease from Aug 8 onwards, with showers becoming confined to fewer places across the state.Meanwhile, independent weather forecaster Weatherman Navdeep said widespread rain continued across Delhi-NCR through Thursday afternoon, with several parts of Gurgaon crossing the 100 mm mark between midnight and 12.30 pm. In rainfall estimates shared by him, Sector 84 recorded 113.2 mm, followed by Sector 48 (112 mm). Other areas receiving heavy rainfall included Sector 7 and Sector 14 (92.6 mm each), Sector 29 and Sector 43 (90.8 mm each), Sushant Lok 1 (90.8 mm), Sector 31 (88.8 mm), Sector 33 (85.8 mm), Sector 40 (85.8 mm), Sector 15 (85.8 mm), Sector 10 (84.8 mm) and Sector 46 (84 mm). He said light rain was likely to continue through the afternoon before easing towards the evening, with another spell of moderate to heavy rain expected over Delhi-NCR on Friday.The latest spell of rain once again brought into focus Gurgaon’s recurring monsoon woes. Submerged roads, stranded vehicles and traffic snarls have become a familiar sight after every spell of heavy rainfall. Residents also pointed to overflowing garbage, roadside waste and poor drainage as factors aggravating waterlogging across several parts of the city.Civic agencies were engaged in dewatering operations at multiple locations as intermittent rain continued through the afternoon, while commuters were advised to avoid waterlogged stretches and expect delays during the evening commute.
