CHECK DAMS STOP ARAVALLI RUN-OFF FROM FLOODING GOLF COURSE RD

Suparna Roy and Kartik Kumar

Despite heavy rain on Monday, there was minimal waterlogging reported from stretches around the Aravallis compared to previous years as rainwater was diverted to the forests through check dams built in the area, officials said.

After severe waterlogging on Golf Course Road in 2020, authorities identified run-off water from the creeks in the Aravallis as the main cause. Ahead of this monsoon, they built check dams in the Aravallis to ensure that the water was diverted to the forest area, which also serves as a vital catchment area for recharging the groundwater table.

Subhash Yadav, the divisional forest officer and head of the urban environment division, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, said that, till last year, water from the creeks used to flow into the drain system and added to the load on the Badshahpur drain.

“Water from three creeks was stored in the forests itself with the help of water bodies and check dams made there. This will help in both groundwater recharge and availability of water for wildlife,” said Yadav.

Three check dams were built along the creeks on Golf Course Road, while creeks near the Shiv Nadar School and in Wazirabad were revitalised to arrest rainwater flow.

On August 19 and 20 of 2020, the city received over 196mm of rainfall, following which the 7km Golf Course Road was inundated, with rainwater accumulation as high as 0.5 metres above the surface level at several points. However, this year, despite receiving 185mm of rainfall in two days, no waterlogging was reported in the area.

Latika Thukral, the co-founder of iamgurgaon, an organisation that helped authorities conduct a hydrogeological study of the area, said, “This time, a decision was taken that no concretised drains will be made near the Aravallis and try to move the water from the roads into the green areas... this year, water flowed into the forests.”

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