News: Rain Floods NCR Roads; 10-km Delhi-Gurugram Jam-04-09-2026

Waterlogged roads and long traffic jams returned to the National Capital Region on Friday, barely a week before Delhi hosts the 18th BRICS Summit.

The worst hit was the expressway linking Gurugram and Delhi, where a snarl of nearly 10 kilometres held up thousands of commuters for four to five hours. According to Gurugram traffic police, the jam began near Shiv Murti in Delhi’s Mahipalpur and reached Udyog Vihar Phase IV in Gurugram by 6.30pm. Several motorists told HT they could not cover even six kilometres in three hours.

Vikas Kumar, heading from Gurugram to Delhi, said he had been stuck in his vehicle for three hours with no place to take a U-turn. Narayan Acharya, driving from Gurugram to Kathmandu, said traffic slowed from Iffco Chowk around 4pm and by 6.30pm he had still not crossed the Sirhaul toll plaza, about six kilometres away.

Traffic police officials said severe waterlogging near Shiv Murti was the immediate trigger. ACP (Gurugram traffic headquarters) Satyapal Yadav said Delhi-bound traffic on the expressway was diverted at Iffco Chowk towards Aya Nagar via MG Road.

In Delhi, stretches in and around Connaught Place were flooded. Mahipalpur, where children played in knee-deep water, and the area around Subroto Park, where water poured from a flyover onto vehicles, were badly affected. The flooding around Lutyens’ Delhi stood out because the area will host the BRICS Summit on September 12 and 13.

In Gurugram, Sheetla Mata Road, MG Road, Palam Vihar, NH-48 and internal roads in Manesar were among the worst affected. Sectors 9A, 10, 15 Part 2, 17A and 31 reported water on internal roads and outside gates.

A Sector 15 Part 2 resident, requesting anonymity, said barely 45 minutes of rain turned the stretch outside the colony into "an open canal" despite yearly promises of desilting. Brigadier Sukhbir Singh, vice-president of the Palam Vihar RWA, said water collects in Vyapar Kendra, Krishna Chowk and other blocks as the area lacks proper drainage.

Gurugram received 44.5mm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Skymet Weather, attributed the spell to the monsoon trough and a low pressure area over southwest Uttar Pradesh, and said Delhi may see heavier rain on Saturday as the trough moves north.

Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) said high-capacity pumps and suction tankers were deployed at vulnerable junctions.

MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya maintained the situation was better than in previous years. He said water clearance times had dropped significantly at nearly 75% of identified hotspots, and rainwater harvesting systems were operational at 113 of 184 designated locations, each designed to handle up to two lakh litres of runoff. GMDA spokesperson Neha Sharma said teams monitored key locations and took flood-relief measures.