Prohibitory orders in Gurgaon on key crossings; motorists sleep on top of vehicles, swim to work

The other IT city to go under water on Friday was Gurgaon with thousands of office goers and other commuters stranded on National Highway-8. Result: Vehicles were caught in bumper to bumper traffic jam, which on some roads had stretched for 15 km. The situation eased only after prohibitory orders -- which normally are imposed on large gatherings – were clamped on a key crossing for several hours. The prohibitory orders were lifted only after the situation normalised.

Many motorists abandoned their vehicles and waded through knee-deep water, which had

accumulated on both the carriageways of the Delhi-Jaipur road. Others slept on the top of their vehicles. The chaos had started on Thursday itself after heavy rains led to water logging in a city where the drainage is non-existent. The NH-8 was choked with hundreds of trucks unable to move and the situation worsened as morning commuters hit the road. On Friday, police could do little else other than issue advisories to avoid travelling to Gurgaon. A commuter told NDTV that he reached home on Friday morning, 12 hours after he left office on Thursday. Finally, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had to direct National Highways Authority of India chairman Raghav Chandra to immediately send a team of officials to clear the NH-8. The Haryana Government called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation as it came under attack from the Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. Under fire was PM Modi’s handpicked Maohar Lal Khattar government which cares two hoots about the Millennium city’s rickety infrastructure. It was pointed out that the BJP government has increased the floor area for buildings in the city without ensuring proper electricity, water, sewage facilities and roads.