Gurugram residents suffer losses from rainwater damage

Accumulated rainwater entered many houses and basements of buildings on Friday following two days of rainfall in the city. Areas such as DLF Phase 1, Sushant Lok-1, Old Gurugram, and Sectors 4, 5, 7, 14, 46, and 56 were among the worst affected as lanes submerged, forcing several residents to shift to the upper floors of their houses and buildings.

Many of them were also seen placing sandbags and putting brick barricades outside their homes to prevent rainwater from entering. “All the furniture we purchased during my wedding was damaged as water entered our house on Thursday. The same thing happened on Friday morning,” Parmesh Singh, a resident of Sector 22, said.

Residents of Sectors 4 and 5 fear a flood-like situation to develop in their area if rains continue. They alleged the authorities have not done enough in the last few years to control this situation.

Dinesh Vashisht , president, Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA), Sectors 3, 5 and 6, said, “Rainwater entering houses is a recurrent and persistent issue which damages furniture and electronic goods.” According to him, the RWA has written to civic agencies many times in the last three years but nothing has been done to resolve waterlogging issues in the area. “We keep standing outside our house, be it day or night, to prevent rainwater from entering by using motors and buckets. It is the same ordeal every year,” SK Aneja, a resident of Sector 3, added.

Narender Singh, a resident of Sector 5, alleged that his family suffered huge losses in the last two years due to rainwater damage. “Water seeped into our drawing room and bedrooms on Friday. We woke up to discover all our carpets and furniture drenched. We have been forced to rent an additional second-floor apartment to shift our belongings to during monsoons. Our gadgets got spoiled for two consecutive years after water seeped in. The drains have not been cleaned and are choked leading to waterlogging,” he said.

According to Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, drains were cleaned before the monsoon this year. “We will ensure the problem is resolved at the earliest. We will send teams to the areas to inspect the issues,” he said.