Bigger roads, flyovers and expressways but rain still brings cities to standstill

For years, India has been building bigger roads, wider highways, flyovers, expressways and new urban corridors. The country has invested heavily in improving the way people move through its cities. Yet every monsoon brings back an uncomfortable question: why can a city with six-lane roads, elevated corridors and new expressways still be brought to its knees by a few hours of heavy rain? The answer lies in what lies beneath and around those roads — the drainage, natural water channels, wetlands and basic urban systems that have not kept pace with construction.Gurgaon's latest episode is a warningGurgaon offered a familiar but telling example this week. Around 70-75mm of rain in a relatively short spell on Monday was enough to flood major roads, trigger road cave-ins and turn routine journeys into hours-long ordeals. Parts of old Gurgaon, including Narsinghpur, Rajiv Chowk, IFFCO Chowk and Sohna Road, were badly affected.