Gurugram’s rain woes: IFFCO Chowk road caves in, dry taps, flood water recedes slowly

A section of the service road at IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram caved in on Tuesday, creating a 10-foot-by-10-foot sinkhole after a master sewer line collapsed, officials said.

The road subsidence came a day after heavy rainfall triggered widespread waterlogging and traffic congestion across the city. Traffic police quickly barricaded the damaged stretch, while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) closed the two service lanes, according to a report by HT.

The sinkhole opened on the Delhi-Jaipur side of the road on Tuesday afternoon, prompting immediate traffic restrictions.

The cave-in added to Gurugram’s civic woes after heavy rain brought several parts of the city to a standstill due to severe waterlogging. Key roads and intersections were inundated, severely disrupting traffic movement. As of Wednesday morning, the flood water had receded in most areas.

The rainfall-related disruption came as damage to key water and sewage pipelines affected water supplies across several sectors, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) had resolved an earlier disruption caused by a leak in a master pipeline near the Basai water treatment plant last week. However, fresh damage during excavation work near Baani Square on Saturday further disrupted water supply over the weekend.

The affected areas included sectors 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 56, 57, and 58 to 76, according to officials.

The GMDA said a master sewer line running from Ambience Mall to Rajiv Chowk passes along the service road.

“The incident happened around 3 pm, after which the damaged portion was barricaded. The repair of the sewage line will begin from Wednesday morning, and all efforts will be made to complete the work at the earliest,” said Bhim Arya, executive engineer, GMDA.

Arya said the authority would carry out a detailed inspection on Wednesday to determine the exact cause of the sewer-line collapse.

NHAI officials said water had accumulated inside the sinkhole. In a statement, the highway authority said: “Preliminary findings indicate that a GMDA master sewer line is running beneath/along the affected location, and possible leakage or failure of the sewer line may have caused soil erosion resulting in the collapse."

Traffic congestion was reported on Tuesday evening after the service lanes were closed. Vehicles were diverted shortly afterwards, traffic officials said.

NHAI officials advised commuters travelling towards Manesar to use a parallel service lane, proceed through the Signature tower crossing and then travel towards the Millennium City Centre Metro station.

An NHAI official said the agency had asked the GMDA to repair the damaged drain.