The Gurgaon district administration Tuesday invoked the Disaster Management Act to issue a comprehensive SOP regulating school transport during heavy rainfall.
Waterlogging on roads and water shortage at homes — this is the double whammy many residents in Gurgaon are facing.
Even as Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) resolved an initial disruption caused by a master pipeline leak near the key Basai water treatment plant last week, fresh damage caused by ongoing excavation work near Baani Square on Saturday compounded the city’s water crisis over the weekend, according to officials. As a result, water supply across sectors 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 56, 57, and 58 to 76 was affected over the weekend. Aggravating the issue, a section of a service road near IFFCO Chowk on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway caved in on Tuesday, creating a gaping sinkhole and damaging a critical sewage pipeline.
This was a day after several parts in the Millenium City came to a halt as heavy rain led to waterlogging.
DLF issues advisory
While further clarity was awaited from the GMDA, DLF’s Facilities Management Team issued the following advisory to residents across Phases 1-4: “As per the latest information received from GMDA officials, the master water supply line at IFFCO Chowk has been damaged, due to which the water supply in DLF City may be affected. The GMDA team is working on the repair on priority to restore the supply at the earliest. We will share further updates. We request residents to use water judiciously during this period.”
Authorities respond
Alerted to the cave-in at 3.15 pm on Tuesday, a team from the Gurgaon Traffic Police, led by Traffic Inspector Mahabir Singh, reached within minutes, cordoned off the affected stretch using reflective barricades and signage to divert commuter movement away from the sinkhole, an officer said.
Subsequently, the Traffic Police alerted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), and then technical teams rushed to the site to assess the subsidence, Singh told The Indian Express.
In a statement posted on X, the NHAI Delhi Regional Office noted: “Preliminary inspection indicates possible leakage from the GMDA sewer line beneath the location, resulting in soil erosion and road settlement.”
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The highway authority added that the matter had been taken up with the GMDA for immediate rectification. A joint engineering team from both agencies initiated inspection and immediate ground stabilization work, officials said.
The NHAI, later at night, added that the draining of the sinkhole is under progress with 4 tractor-mounted pumps, and that traffic has been diverted to another service road along the same section.
On Monday, the city received an average of 75 mm of rainfall, according to the district administration, leaving key intersections near Subhash Chowk, Rail Vihar, and the expressway inundated. The subsequent waterlogging trapped over a dozen school buses for hours, leaving school children stranded. The gridlock also forced the district administration to issue work-from-home advisories for private offices.
The Gurgaon district administration Tuesday invoked the Disaster Management Act to issue a comprehensive SOP regulating school transport during heavy rainfall.
Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.
Education
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)
- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)
Professional Experience
Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.
Reporting Interests
His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.
Recent Coverage (2025)
- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).
- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).
- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).
- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.
- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).
- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).
Contact
X (Twitter): @AB_Hazardous ... Read More
