In Gurugram, 8 lives lost in just 2 hours of rainfall

GURUGRAM: It was chaos that is all too familiar for people living in the so-called Millennium City. On Wednesday night, a two-hour downpour triggered a cascade of tragedies across Gurugram, leaving at least eight people dead—electrocuted, drowned, swept into manholes or killed in road accidents.

- Abhishek Behl, Debashish Karmakar and Ankur Saini

By morning, roads remained submerged, drains were choked with sludge, and anger among residents had risen almost as fast as the floodwaters. Once again, the promise of a world-class urban centre lay shattered in the deluge, exposing the threadbare fabric of civic planning, even as officials and politicians continue to point fingers and deflect blame.

However, the chaos did not end there. Taking note of the severe disruption, the Deputy Commissioner issued an advisory to all corporate offices and private institutions, urging them to allow employees to work from home on Thursday. "This measure is intended to mitigate traffic congestion, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange Alert for the city," the order stated.

Eight lives lost

The first death was reported around 9.30pm, barely half an hour after the rain started. Akshat Kumar Jain, a 30-year-old software engineer, was riding home from the gym on Ghasola Road when his motorcycle slipped on waterlogged tarmac. He skidded into a pole with exposed live wires submerged in calf-deep water. Eyewitnesses tried to rescue him using bamboo poles but could not save him. Jain, a resident of Delhi's Vishwas Nagar, was declared dead at a private hospital. Police later booked officials of the private power distribution company for negligence under IPC Section 304-A.