A couple of hours of rain on Tuesday was all it took to paralyse Gurgaon. With arterial roads submerged and traffic crawling—or not moving at all—residents abandoned their vehicles, booked hotel rooms, and took to social media to vent their frustration and share SOS updates.
Among the many voices online, a post by activist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj on X stood out. “Hi Rapido, I want to thank your driver partner Mr Suraj Maurya from bottom of my heart. He was with me for 6+ hours because of Gurgaon Traffic but didn't complain at all. Dropped me home in these waters. Politely said ma'am pay whatever extra you want. ABSOLUTE GEM!!” she wrote.
While praises poured in for the helpful Rapido driver, a larger story was unfolding across the city—of resilience, frustration, and a complete breakdown of urban infrastructure in the face of seasonal rain.
Hotels over highways
With roads like Golf Course Extension, IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower, Galleria Market, Mahavir Chowk and Tulip Chowk completely inundated, many residents opted to stay put rather than risk the commute.
Manisha Kacker, a local resident, told CNN-News18 that she had advised her husband to check into the DoubleTree by Hilton instead of navigating the flooded roads. “At least he is safe there,” she said.
Neha Patil, another resident, echoed the sentiment: “One of my office colleagues also just booked a hotel nearby to stay and not coming back… All the roads are completely flooded.”
The deluge of complaints on social media was not just about inconvenience—it was also political.
“Gurgaon/Gurugram. Rwo hours of rain and you see a sea of traffic jam! This despite having the glorious triple engine model of BJP and one of the richest municipal corporation in the country,” wrote user @Deb_livnletliv.
Congress secretary Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) was more scathing: “This is Gurgaon after just TWO hours of rain. SHAMEFUL! You pay taxes, lots of taxes, direct, indirect, all kinds, and what do you get? Floods. Chaos. TERRIBLE! People deserve BETTER, the best quality of life, not this third-class nonsense.”
Army veteran Dr Yash Mor (@YashMor5) added on Tuesday: “Gurgaon has been totally choked. Heavy rains since afternoon. People are stuck on the roads for hours, almost all important arterial roads are jammed. It's taking hours to travel just a couple of kms.”
A smart city in name only?
The criticism also targeted the city’s long-standing promise of becoming a “smart city.”
“Just last year one had claimed of making Gurgaon a smart city as his number 1 priority, but after 1 year you see: Clogged drains, open garbage which foreign tourists had to clean and now traffic jam due to rain,” wrote @Deb_livnletliv.
Orange alert, zero preparedness
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an Orange Alert for Gurugram on Tuesday, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall. Between 3 pm and 7 pm alone, over 100 mm of rain was recorded.
Despite the forecast, the city appeared unprepared. The Gurgaon Police issued an advisory late in the day, urging corporate offices to allow work-from-home and schools to shift to online classes.
“The Indian Meteorological Department in its forecast has issued Orange Alert: Heavy to very heavy rainfall for 02-09-2025. In view of the above forecast, all corporate offices and private institutions in the district are advised to guide their employees to work from home, and all schools in the district are advised to conduct online classes,” said the Deputy Commissioner.
With more rain forecast and no immediate solution in place, residents are bracing for another day of chaos.
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