'Sewage Version Of Venice': Architect Slams 'Greedy Developers' For Cutting Off Natural Drainage Channels As Gurugram Faces Deluge

Monday evening saw Gurugram descend into disorder following heavy rainfall that paralysed the city, causing complete gridlock on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway for hours on end. The downpour, which began around 3 pm and continued for almost four hours, inundated major sections of the highway, creating a massive traffic jam that extended nearly 20 kilometres.

Travellers found themselves trapped for hours between the Sirhaul toll plaza close to the Delhi boundary and the Kherki Daula toll plaza within Gurugram.

The heavy rain in Gurugram not only caused inconvenience to thousands of its residents, but has also ignited debate on how the natural drainage system of the city has been encroached upon and cut off by greedy developers.

Seetu Mahajan Kohli, an architect by profession, slammed the greedy developers for destroying the natural drainage system of Gurugram in a post on X.

Sharing the video of the traffic jam on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway, she posted: "Gurgaon's land was once part of the Sahibi river basin, with natural depressions and jheels (seasonal lakes) serving as catchments. As real estate exploded in the 1990s, many of these were built over or encroached upon, cutting off natural drainage channels. Greedy developers, greased by payoffs, pushed through projects with no regard for norms."

"Back in our architecture college in Gurgaon (circa 1994), it was a passing joke that this city would one day become a sewage version of Venice. And here we are," she added.

Another user highlighted that the rampant encroachments in Gurugram have choked all geological outlets for rainwater.

"Gurgaon is in the middle of the flood plain of the Sahibi river, which was once a tributary of the river Yamuna. Now it is known as the Najafgarh drain in Delhi NCR following barrage construction at Rewari. Rampant real estate encroachments have choked all geological outlets for rainwater in Sahibi river flood plains encroached by real estate," the user commented.

The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) issued an advisory asking private companies to allow employees to work from home, while schools were directed to shift classes online. An orange alert had been issued for 2nd September, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the region.