Gurgaon..err..Gurugram is drowning. The city’s authorities are apparently perplexed. “How come the drainage situation didn’t improve even after changing the whole name of this modern IT hub in Haryana?”
The effort seems to have gone down the drain, but the water hasn’t. And there’s little we could do except make silent abuses. Or, we could just give these vast urban lakes for film shoots, and earn decent money off the civic apathy?
We’ve a few suggestions. Dive in.
Stuck in the Jaws of the Jam
What comes with a deeply submerged road? A threat of imminent jam and the loss of crucial hours stuck in the never moving traffic. It’s dangerous, it’s traumatic, and nerve-wracking. Avoid all the roads which seem fishy.
Braving the Titanic Mess
However romantic rains may be hyped as, you realise how pointless it is when you hit the roads in the rainy season. There are cars, bikes, buildings drowning. People all drenched. People with glasses, both drenched and blind. You can’t even jump out of your drowning car and swim the distance, because the road may have an open manhole/gau-mutr. Definitely not a rosey picture.
What About the Plea?
Almost every year, the police issues an advisory, the citizens start an online petition, but the water keeps going above the head. The pleas of the citizens seem to reach nowhere, with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon even reportedly failing to spend money budgeted for drainage. Taming a tiger might be easier than this.
The Treasure of an Available Cab
Your urgency of finding a cab is inversely proportional to their availability. Especially so in the rainy season. And when your roads are as clogged as Gurugram’s and when a large number of office commuters line across the road with a phone in their hands, you know the probability is going down by the second. The running across the road, the hailing and shouting, the haggling and eventually managing to squeeze in a cab. It’s almost a treasure hunt. Aye Captain?
It’s About Finding Hope
The highways are jammed and the drains are frothing. But lets not drown ourselves with regret. It’s all about finding a ray of hope. Maybe floating those paper boats in the flooded garden, or taking a break from work because going to school/work is not possible. There’s a golden chance there. Leap at it.
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