Traffic mess following heavy rain on Thursday clogged Gurgaon for more than 24 hours
Highlights
- Regretting the traffic mess, a top official said,"could've done better"
- Satyaprakash said the city was now better prepared to tackle rain
- Heavy rain began on Thursday night, hundreds were stuck on roads
Apologising to commuters in Gurgaon for the traffic mess that clogged the satellite city for more than 24 hours, a top official has admitted that the administration "made some blunders" and promised that "this won't repeat again". Regretting the inconvenience, he added that the city has learnt its lesson and is now better prepared to tackle more rain.
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It has been drizzling in Gurgaon since morning, but there are no reports of traffic jams as yet. Police personnel have been deployed at all major intersections to man the traffic. The met department has predicted lighter rain over the weekend but expects intense showers again on Tuesday.
Speaking to NDTV, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner TL Satyaprakash admitted that "there were a couple to blunders we did...we apologise to whoever suffered and sincerely regret the inconvenience" but added that "we have taken this as an opportunity to reposition ourselves. Now, even if it rains double the amount, people won't face problems. We promise this won't repeat again."
He also said that the administration realised that having a Twitter account could have helped address people's concerns directly and hence set up one yesterday. As rain deluged city roads, angry residents had headed to Facebook and Twitter with an outpouring of complaints.
The chaos began on Thursday evening as water-logging after heavy monsoon showers left commuters stranded for hours on the main highway connecting Delhi and Jaipur as well the roads that link Delhi to Gurgaon.
It ended late on Friday evening, after prohibitory order banning large gatherings was put in place for several hours.
Throughout Thursday evening, commuters spoke of abandoning their cars and wading through knee-deep water to get home. On Friday, they woke up to gridlocked traffic. In some parts, the backlog of the jams was nearly 15 km long.
The Gurgaon Police asked people from Delhi - many of whom work in Gurgaon - to stay away. "People coming to Gurgaon from Delhi are advised to stay back today to avoid being stuck in traffic jams due to flooding on roads," it posted on Twitter on Friday morning.
Gurgaon, which has been described as "Millennium City", is home to scores of top multinational companies, expensive condominiums, a world-class golf course, top hospitals and gleaming shopping malls. But like many Indian cities, it lacks an efficient drainage system making it prone to flooding.
Haryana officials advised schools to shut early. They have been asked not to open today either (some schools run classes and activities on Saturdays).
The Haryana government called an emergency meeting as it was faulted by opposition parties like the Congress, which lost the Haryana election in 2014 after which the BJP took charge of the state.
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