GURUGRAM: The city had a close shave on Friday and Saturday when the water level in Badshapur drain — the main canal that flushes out rainwater from major parts of Gurugram — almost reached its carrying capacity near Hero Honda Chowk and Khandsa, the main choke point of the infamous 2016 Gurujam.Intermittent but heavy showers over the past two days and subsequent flood alert sounded by the authorities not only brought to focus, once again, the city’s vulnerability but also exposed the government’s failure in mending key infrastructures over the past two years.Though the city, especially areas near Hero Honda Chowk and Khandsa village, returned from the verge of flooding this weekend, citizens may brace for a flood-like situation if the skies open up again in coming days.For, even after spending around Rs 40 crore over the past two years, the authorities have failed to complete the revival of Badshapur drain. In fact, widening of the canal’s stretch passing through Khandsa village — the trigger-point behind the massive flood in July 2016 — is yet to be completed.On Friday, panic-stricken officials rushed to Khandsa village, where concretisation of the drain is yet to be taken up, to take stock of the situation. As a stop-gap measure, extra pipes and pumps were installed to drain out the excess rainwater near NH-8 on Friday. Also, they placed sand bags on the drain’s edges to avoid erosion of soil that could block the water flow and result in flooding in Khandsa on Saturday.But no one knows for sure if those sand bags would be able to save the city next time.According to officials, the widening and concretisation of the 1.5km-stretch from Southern Peripheral Road to Delhi-Gurugram Expressway, via Vatika Chowk, has been completed.But, a 250m-long portion of the drain in Khandsa village is still lying in a shambles. Though government agencies have already demolished disputed structures that were obstructing the work, heaps of debris and concrete remains are still lying in the area. Experts said the debris posed a threat as it could result in silting, further clogging the drain and thereby affecting the flow of rainwater.This apart, construction of another 250m-long stretch from Eklavya Tirth temple in Khandsa towards Najafgarh drain is still incomplete. And the work cannot be carried out and finished during the rains.Moreover, a recent survey of the entire 28km-long drain by TOI revealed that the drain’s width had been reduced to 30 feet (concrete portion) from the actual width of 150 feet. Also, no floodplain has been created by the authorities near the concretised portions. At the 80m-long portion that passes by Hero Honda Chowk, a culvert was constructed last year to flush out rainwater. However, the drain takes a sharp turn before it enters Khandsa village. Ideally, the turn should be of 30 degrees. But, here the drain takes a sharp 90-degree turn to divert rainwater towards Khandsa.Experts said the sharp turn could trigger overflowing or flow-back, in case of heavy rain, especially due to obstructions in the way ahead.When contacted, Huda administrator Dr Chandrashekhar Khare said, “We have managed to drain out the excess rainwater for now and the water level in the drain has receded. We will ensure no flooding takes place in Gurugram, and necessary measures will be taken for the same”.Huda officials said though the drain could not be completed in time, mainly due to resistance from local residents, they had recently installed an additional two-metre-wide pipeline in the drain in Khandsa to avert a crisis. Also, a pit was dug up near Eklavya temple.Huda engineers also did piles work in the area and the drain was widened by another 10 metres, in addition to its original width of 10 metres.

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