GURGAON: As heavy rain once again brought Gurgaon to a standstill, BJP MP Rao Inderjit Singh has blamed development carried out during the Congress era for the city’s long-standing waterlogging woes, saying construction over traditional drainage channels has left the city struggling to cope with excess rainwater.Singh said to news agency ANI, Gurgaon’s waterlogging problem dates back years and is primarily linked to the blocking of old natural drains that once carried water from the Aravalli hills towards the Yamuna.“Waterlogging has been occurring in Gurgaon for years. The main reason is that development has taken place over the old, traditional drains that used to carry water from the hills to the Yamuna. We are still dealing with the consequences of this development that happened during the Congress era today,” Singh said.The Gurgaon MP said the city’s existing measures provide only temporary relief and suggested constructing underground tunnels along the routes of the old drains to restore the natural flow of rainwater.“The only way to fix this now is to construct underground tunnels, similar to those built for the Metro, along the paths of the old drains to channel the water through those original routes,” he said.Describing the current approach as a “Band-Aid” solution, Singh said attempts to block or divert water at one location only shift the problem elsewhere.“What we are doing right now is essentially a ‘Band-Aid’ solution. It offers some relief, but if we block the water in one place, it finds a way out elsewhere,” he said.Singh said the government was working on a permanent solution and that efforts were underway to arrange the funds required for the proposed infrastructure.His remarks came as Gurgaon again witnessed severe waterlogging following heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday. Several major roads and residential areas were inundated, with water levels reaching around two feet at parts of Basai Road and Pataudi Road in Old Gurgaon.The situation was compounded by traffic congestion during peak office hours, while road cave-ins were reported at two locations.At IFFCO Chowk, a portion of the service road along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway caved in, creating a sinkhole around 10 feet wide. Officials said a 1,000-mm-diameter master sewer line runs beneath the affected stretch and preliminary inspection indicated possible leakage, which may have washed away soil below the road.The stretch was barricaded and traffic towards the U-turn flyover was affected. Officials said the exact cause would be determined after dewatering and inspection of the sewer line.The latest disruption came after around 70 mm of rain was recorded in just 35 minutes on Monday, which submerged several roads and underpasses. Around 15 vehicles, including nine school buses, were stranded at Subhash Chowk, leaving more than 300 schoolchildren stuck for several hours.The repeated flooding has also triggered criticism of the civic administration, with residents complaining about prolonged traffic jams and inadequate drainage despite the installation of hundreds of rainwater harvesting systems.The district administration meanwhile issued advisories for schools and encouraged companies to allow employees to work from home. The Gurgaon Municipal Corporation has also begun exploring longer-term technical solutions, including options discussed with professors from IIT Gandhinagar for managing rainwater at key waterlogging hotspots.Rao Inderjit Singh, a six-term Lok Sabha MP, represents Gurgaon and is one of the prominent political figures from southern Haryana. A former Congress member, he joined the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.Singh has also represented the erstwhile Mahendragarh constituency twice. Over his political career, he has been associated with several development initiatives in the region, including infrastructure projects and the setting up of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority.
