‘Venice of the East’: Internet trolls hit Gurugram and choke the city | Today’s news
Hours of relentless rain brought Gurugram to a near standstill on Thursday, with flooded roads, long traffic jams and stranded commuters dominating the city landscape. As visuals of flooded streets circulated on social media, many users sarcastically dubbed Millennium City the “Venice of the East” while others questioned the state of civic infrastructure in one of India’s largest corporate hubs.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for all districts of Delhi and an orange alert for Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut, warning of more heavy rainfall during the day.
Weather watchers are warning of more rain
Several weather enthusiasts tracking the monsoon system said the rain could intensify over the next few hours.
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The recent rainfall in Gurugram caused widespread waterlogging, severe traffic jams and stranded commuters, significantly disrupting daily life and leading to a red alert from the IMD.
Residents sarcastically refer to Gurugram as the “Venice of the East” due to severe flooding and infrastructure problems in the city following heavy rains that led to waterlogged roads and traffic chaos.
Local government teams, including the Gurugram Municipal Corporation and the police, were deployed to clear waterlogged roads and manage traffic amid flooding caused by heavy rains.
Yes, residents should be concerned as a balcony collapse in Gurugram has raised concerns about structural safety, prompting calls for a thorough assessment of the affected building.
The IMD issued a red alert for Delhi and an orange alert for Gurugram and nearby regions, predicting more heavy rain and warning residents of possible flooding and travel disruption.
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X Weatherman user Navdeep Dahiya wrote:
• Continuous rains in Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and East Delhi and likely to continue till evening hours.
• Currently cloudy and drizzling over West, Central Delhi and Gurgaon. Heavy showers are confined to East NCR.
• Fresh feeders are forming over north and central Haryana, may further merge into main cloud cluster by late afternoon, rain coverage for West NCR including Gurgaon depends on it.
Another update in the afternoon, the latest track from new bands.”
Another weather-focused X account, India Skymet Weather, said a low pressure area in the monsoon trough was moving north of Delhi. It has predicted continued heavy rainfall accompanied by intense convective cloud cover, with 180 mm to 250 mm of rainfall estimated to fall over East Delhi, East NCR, Noida, Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Meerut in the next 24 hours.
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‘Venice of the East’: The Internet reacts
As photos and videos of submerged roads circulated online, social media users reacted with humor, frustration and criticism.
In response to Navdeep Dahiya’s update, one user wrote:
“Yup. Sustained heavy rains in #noida since morning. Glad it’s not the case in #Gurgaon otherwise it would have become the Venice of the East.”
“Visited the new water park in Gurgaon. Zero rides, dirty water and everyone trying to leave. Not recommended. 2/10.”
Others criticized the city’s infrastructure.
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“This is Gurugram. One of the most luxurious cities in India. A few hours of rain and this is the state of the roads in 2026. What good are skyscrapers and luxury apartments if the foundations cannot be fixed? When will India prioritize urgent municipal reforms?”
“Millennium City Gurugram’s National Highway caved in with the onset of monsoon rains, leaving citizens trapped in a traffic jam of around 10 km. Is this the world-class infrastructure we get after paying high taxes?”
Actor Raj Babbar also commented on the city’s recurring monsoon woes, writing:
“Year after year, Gurugram is the same old story. The king lives in luxury, but for the common man, do conditions ever change?”
Waterlogging brings traffic to a crawl
Heavy rain led to widespread waterlogging across Gurugram, slowing traffic on several major roads. Key stretches, including the service lane of the Delhi-Jaipur Highway near Narsinghpur, Basai, Kadipur and Sohna Road, witnessed severe traffic jams, with several vehicles reportedly breaking down in flooded areas.
According to officials, teams from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), police and other agencies have been deployed to clear waterlogged roads and manage traffic.
Flooding was reported from Sectors 31 and 39, Sheetla Mata Mandir Road, Sector 10A, Pataudi Road, Basai Road, Kadipur and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk, among others.
The disruption caused by the rain has also prompted several private companies to advise employees to work from home as authorities continue to try to restore normalcy.
