Aug 12, 2024, New Delhi: For the fourth time this monsoon season, citizens on Sunday wrote about prevalent waterlogging in Delhi and Gurugram on LocalCircles and other social media platforms like X. Videos from Gurugram showed homes filled with knee deep water and shopkeepers in Najafgarh Delhi were seen complaining about goods getting soaked and damaged due to rainwater. Similar complaints have been received almost every week since the last week of June when Delhi received 200 mm of rain on the morning of June 28th.

Pictures relayed through news bulletins and social media clear show that most parts of Delhi have suffered this year due to the ill-preparedness, bad planning of the civic authorities and poor execution of several projects in Delhi. The city’s civic authorities are still to tackle the problem as every spell of rain results in water logging leading to traffic snarls, loss of productivity and expense on the account of increased fuel burn and vehicle maintenance.

Given the large number of complaints received from residents of Delhi NCR in the last 6 weeks, LocalCircles has conducted a survey to find out how residents of Delhi NCR have been faring and what sort of problems they have been facing. The survey received over 19,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. 67% respondents were men while 33% respondents were women.

86% Delhi NCR citizens say they experience one or more issues due to water logging in the region

The survey asked residents of Delhi NCR, “Did you face issues due to water logging in Delhi NCR?” The question received 9,758 responses with 86% of Delhi NCR residents surveyed stating “yes” they had faced one or more issues due to water logging and 14% stated “no” they faced no such issues.

Delhi NCR residents who face issues due to water logging cite spending extra time in traffic as top issue followed by productivity/working hours loss and additional vehicle maintenance costs; 71% of them also cite experiencing financial losses due to missed flights, trains etc.

The survey next asked residents in the national capital region, “What are all the issues you generally face due to water logging in Delhi NCR?” Some among the 8,392 residents of Delhi NCR indicated more than more than one problem due to water logging. All the respondents stated, “spend extra time in traffic”; 86% of respondents stated, “lose productive time/ working hours”; 86% of respondents stated “incur additional maintenance cost for the vehicle”; 71% of respondents stated “incur other financial loss due to missed flights/ trains, etc.”; and 43% of respondents stated “experience issues other than the ones described above”. To sum up, Delhi NCR residents who face issues due to water logging cite spending extra time in traffic as top issue followed by productivity/working hours loss and additional vehicle maintenance costs; 71% of them also cite experiencing financial losses due to missed flights, trains etc.

92% Delhi NCR residents surveyed believe that city administration (municipality, water, traffic authorities) in Delhi have not prepared for waterlogging this monsoon season; 62% feel the same about Gurugram while 38% feel the same about Noida/Ghaziabad

Preparing the city ahead of the main monsoon season from June to September has long been a practice rigorously followed by the civic bodies not only in Delhi NCR but across the country as summer monsoon accounts for around 80% of the rainfall in India. Overlooking or neglecting this task is known to lead to loss of property besides displacement and loss of lives. Looking at the recent experiences of Delhi NCR residents, the survey asked, “What all city administrations in Delhi and NCR do you believe have not prepared for waterlogging this monsoon season?” Some among the 9,694 who responded to the question indicated more than one administrative body with 92% indicating “Delhi”; 62% “Gurugram”; 46% indicated “Faridabad”; 38% indicated “Noida and Greater Noida” and 38% indicated “Ghaziabad”. To sum up, 92% Delhi NCR residents surveyed believe that city administration (municipality, water, traffic authorities) in Delhi have not prepared for waterlogging this monsoon season; 62% feel the same about Gurugram while 38% feel the same about Noida/Ghaziabad

In summary, the survey brings to the fore the fact that an overwhelming number of people are impacted when Delhi NCR gets flooded due to mismanagement of infrastructure, including neglect of drainage system and lack of water harvesting initiatives. 86% Delhi NCR residents surveyed say they experience one or more issues due to water logging in the region. Delhi NCR residents who face issues due to water logging cite spending extra time in traffic as top issue followed by productivity/working hours loss and additional vehicle maintenance costs; 71% of them also cite experiencing financial losses due to missed flights, trains, etc. Not surprisingly, 92% Delhi NCR residents surveyed believe that city administration (municipality, water, traffic authorities) in Delhi have not prepared for waterlogging this monsoon season; 62% feel the same about Gurugram while 38% feel so about Noida/Ghaziabad administration. The administrators of civic bodies need to begin their preparation for the next monsoon season literally in October instead of waiting till summer next year, if they want to minimize water logging, according to citizens of Delhi NCR.

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 19,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. 67% respondents were men while 33% respondents were women. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.