First major spell of monsoon brings Gurugram to a standstill, NH-48 caves in near Narsinghpur, triggers traffic jam

The first major spell of monsoon brought Gurugram to a standstill on Tuesday afternoon as a portion of National Highway-48 caved in near Narsinghpur, leading to massive traffic snarls and waterlogging across the city.

According to Google Maps, traffic on NH-48 between Narsinghpur and Udyog Vihar Phase-IV, along with several arterial roads leading to the highway, was moving at a crawl around 7:30 pm.

The cave-in occurred on the Delhi-Jaipur carriageway. To ensure smooth flow and safety of motorists heading from Delhi towards Jaipur, traffic was diverted to the left at Rajiv Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk and routed via the Southern Peripheral Road. Commuters coming from Delhi were advised to use the Dwarka Expressway.

The rain, which began around 2:30 pm coinciding with school dispersal time, led to severe waterlogging and congestion on arterial roads, underpasses and other key stretches. Several school buses were caught in the jams. Vehicles broke down in waterlogged stretches, and trees were uprooted further disrupting movement, Gurugram Police said.

Due to the ongoing heavy rainfall, significant traffic congestion and waterlogging have been reported on NH-48, said Gurugram Police, adding that “all motorists traveling between Delhi and Gurugram are strongly advised to use alternative routes to NH-48”.

‘Work from home’

Issuing a work from home advisory, the police said: “In view of the ongoing and anticipated heavy rainfall in Gurugram, there is a significant risk of waterlogging and traffic congestion across major arterial roads and intersections in the city. We strongly urge the corporate sector and private establishments to encourage Work from Home arrangements for their employees for the next few days”. 

The city recorded around 80 mm of rain till 5 pm. In the Civil Lines area, a school bus and two SUVs got stuck in a pit dug for pipeline-laying work that was submerged due to water accumulation, local media reported. Sector 15 and Patel Nagar witnessed heavy waterlogging. In Sector 68, the false ceiling of a showroom inside a shopping mall collapsed minutes after the rain started.

Social media was flooded with complaints. An X user wrote: “Gurugram received 30 mins of rain and already seeing traffic jam for more than five kms and water logging and what not issues.” Another user, Jitender Sharma, posted pictures of the Narsinghpur cave-in with the caption: “It can’t possibly happen that it’s raining and yet Gurgaon doesn’t flood with water or the roads don’t submerge.”

Gurugram Police deployed additional personnel at identified points and senior officers visited affected areas to issue directions. Coordination was established with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority and other departments for clearing waterlogging, obstructions and damaged road surfaces. Cranes, recovery vehicles, pumps, water tankers and other resources were pressed into service to rescue stranded vehicles. Private resources were also mobilised where needed. Police ensured continuous regulation at waterlogged locations, major intersections, underpasses and other sensitive routes.

“The municipal corporation’s primary objective during heavy rainfall was to ensure speedy drainage of water and maintain smooth traffic flow. Tractor-mounted pumps, de-watering pumps, suction tankers and other machinery were deployed at various locations,” an MCG press statement said.