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The city was waiting for the first rains of the season, but Gurugram was not prepared to deal with the rains that followed.
Heavy rain on July 7 followed by intermittent rain on July 8 affected several major stretches including Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Sohna Road, Golf Course Extension Road and areas around Subhash Chowk. (Image: PTI)
When it rained for a few hours on July 7, it was raining heavily in the entire NCR. While I reached Gurugram from Noida in about 1 hour 30 minutes, it took me another 2.5 hours to reach my destination in the same city within Gurugram. The people of Gurugram have to deal with this every monsoon and every rainy day. As much as the city was waiting for the first rains of the season, it was not prepared to deal with the rains that followed.
Within hours, familiar scenes began to unfold in the Millennium City. Roads disappeared under a blanket of water, vehicles crawled bumper-to-bumper, passengers were left stranded for hours, and social media was filled with videos of submerged roads. Then came another major shock, with a portion of the service road on NH-48 near Narsinghpur caved in, forcing officials to divert traffic and leading to congestion across the city. What should have been a welcome spell of monsoon rains once again turned into a reminder of the problems Gurugram’s infrastructure has been facing for years.
Heavy rain on July 7 followed by intermittent rain on July 8 affected several major stretches including Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Sohna Road, Golf Course Extension Road and areas around Subhash Chowk. Waterlogging slowed down traffic across the city, while landslides near Narsinghpur led to massive traffic jams on NH-48, one of the busiest highways connecting Delhi to Gurugram and Jaipur. Office-goers spent hours on roads that had become virtual parking lots, with many reporting times stretching up to three or four hours.
Read more: Monsoon nightmare continues in Gurgaon: 10-hour standoff, 500 SOS calls in 2 hours
Between 6 pm and 8 pm on July 8, around 500 distress calls were received on the traffic police helpline, while rescue teams worked through the night to restore traffic movement.
However, for residents, there were no surprises. The city has seen this story almost every monsoon.
Same story year after year
In July 2025, the city received 133 mm of rain overnight, resulting in five deaths and an all-around standoff. Traffic came to a standstill on NH-48, Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Golf Course Road, Basai Road and Sohna Road. School buses carrying children were stuck for five hours.
Five people died in rain-related incidents. Three people died of electrocution after coming in contact with electric poles or wires submerged in water. Akshat Jain, a 25-year-old graphic designer, died after touching an electrical wire hidden under flood water near Ghasola Road. An autorickshaw driver drowned after falling into an open sewer filled with water on the roads. Another person died in a road accident during the rains.
In August 2024, three hours of rain caused traffic disruption across Gurugram for hours. There is knee-deep water on NH-48 near Narsinghpur. Heavy traffic jam was reported between Khedki Daula and Rajiv Chowk. Severe waterlogging was seen on Golf Course Extension Road, Basai and Sohna Road. School children in colonies along NH-48 reportedly could not reach school as the roads became impassable.
A city that powers the economy but falters in the rains
The irony is hard to ignore. Gurugram is one of India’s wealthiest cities and one of its biggest economic engines. Home to thousands of multinational companies, Fortune 500 offices, global capability centres, luxury residential projects and a thriving startup ecosystem, the city contributes significantly to Haryana’s economy. Gurugram’s economy is estimated to be around Rs 2 lakh crore annually, while the district contributes about 35-40 per cent of Haryana’s GST and excise revenue. Nearly one-fourth of the state’s GST collection is estimated to come from Gurugram alone.
Yet every monsoon, residents ask themselves the same question: How can one of India’s most prosperous urban centers still stagnate after a few hours of rain?
The answer lies in a combination of geography, explosive urbanization, aging infrastructure and fragmented governance.
A city built faster than its drainage
Much of Gurugram has expanded rapidly over the last three decades. Glass office towers, high-rise apartments and commercial complexes have replaced farmland, ponds and open spaces that once naturally absorbed rainwater.
Large parts of the city are now covered in concrete, leaving very little permeable surface for water to seep into the ground. Instead, rainwater drains into storm drains, many of which are either undersized, clogged with silt and debris, or unable to handle intense rainfall.
The location of the city also complicates the matter. Rainwater flowing from the Aravalli hills naturally flows through Gurugram before moving towards the Najafgarh basin. When local drainage channels become blocked or overwhelmed, water rapidly accumulates in roads and low-lying areas.
Urban planners say Gurugram’s flooding problem lies in the city’s expansion. Unlike many planned cities that grow alongside integrated civic infrastructure, Gurugram’s explosive growth was largely driven by private real estate development spread across multiple jurisdictions. Storm water drains were added in stages rather than as part of an integrated citywide network.
As a result, many drainage channels have been cut or reduced in size, while natural water bodies and drainage paths beneath roads, housing societies and commercial complexes have continuously disappeared. Experts say the city’s drainage infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with its rapid urbanization and rapidly increasing rainfall events.
Why does the problem keep returning again and again?
Successive governments have announced drainage projects after every major flood event, especially after the infamous “Gurujam” of 2016, when thousands of travelers were stranded for nearly 18 hours.
Since then, authorities have invested hundreds of crores of rupees in improving stormwater infrastructure, building new drains, desilting existing drains and setting up pumping stations. Several projects including Leg-4 drain have been completed to improve water discharge. However, urban planners have repeatedly pointed out that isolated engineering projects cannot solve the problem rooted in decades of unplanned development, vanishing natural water bodies and poor maintenance.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that the responsibility is divided among multiple agencies – Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Haryana Urban Development Authority (HSVP), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD). Roads, drains and highways often fall under different authorities, making coordinated planning and implementation difficult.
price of every rainy day
The consequences extend far beyond discomfort. Hours lost in traffic translate into lost productivity, higher fuel consumption, delayed deliveries, increased wear and tear of vehicles and increased frustration for residents. Emergency services are being delayed, businesses are suffering losses and public transport has become unreliable.
The irony is that this happens in a city whose own municipal budget is around Rs 1,900 crore annually, while Haryana remains heavily dependent on Gurugram’s tax contributions to fill its coffers.
deep planning flaws
The events of July 7 and 8 were not solely the result of heavy rainfall. They highlight a deep urban planning challenge. Climate experts have warned that short-duration, high-intensity rainfall events are becoming more frequent. Cities therefore need infrastructure designed not only for average rainfall but also for extreme weather events. This means restoring natural drainage channels, protecting water bodies, improving maintenance of storm water systems, limiting uncontrolled concretization and ensuring better coordination among civic agencies.
Until then, every first spell of monsoon is likely to bring back the same images: submerged roads, stranded commuters, hours-long traffic jams and residents wondering why one of India’s most economically vibrant cities is still grappling with something as basic as rain.
About the author
Pragati is news editor at news18.com. After heading the Business and Viral sections, Pragati now conceptualises, writes and edits long-form features and articles on national and global affairs. She makes sure…read more
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