The real reason Gurugram can’t handle rains

India Today

Every year, just one heavy downpour is enough to bring Gurugram — India’s so-called Millennium City — to a standstill.

Transcript

00:00In the 20-20 crore apartment tents, let's see this.

00:30Just two decades ago, Gurugram was farmland and villages.

00:34Today, it's one of India's richest cities, home to global banks, IT giants and luxury apartments.

00:39But the reins tell another story. This so-called millennium city can't handle water.

00:44Here's the price of rapid urbanization. In the rush to build offices, expressways and gated societies, Gurugram built over its natural drainage system.

01:04Wetlands that once absorbed rainwater are gone. Natural channels that carried water away are blocked by concrete.

01:10The destruction extends beyond the main river. In Basai village, five of its six ponds vanished in just 12 years.

01:29By 2019, they had either been paved over for residential sectors and a school or poisoned by industrial effluents.

01:35The Badshapur drain, Gurugram's primary stormwater channel, once measured 45 meters wide.

01:40Today, it has shrunk to under 10 meters in places, choked by encroachment, silt and waste.

01:45Smaller sector level drains are poorly aligned and frequently clogged, leaving little room for water to escape.

01:50Green cover too has collapsed. According to the Haryana Forest Department, it has dropped from 9% in 2011 to less than 4% today.

01:58With grasslands, open fields and wetlands replaced by glass and concrete, rainwater has no way to percolate.

02:04It rushes instead onto roads, overwhelming whatever drainage remains.

02:08For gig workers and daily wages, the loss is more direct. No rides, no deliveries, no work.

02:14Every monsoon is a reminder, urban growth without planning is a flood waiting to happen.

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