Heavy rainfall triggered a partial collapse of the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (NH-48) near the Sunbeam industrial area in Gurugram's Narsinghpur locality on Tuesday, leading to major traffic disruptions and leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

The damaged stretch created a huge crater on the highway, forcing authorities to divert traffic heading towards Jaipur. The collapse resulted in a traffic jam extending nearly 8 to 10 kilometres, with vehicles moving at a crawl from IFFCO Chowk to Narsinghpur.

Besides the highway damage, multiple road cave-ins were reported from different parts of Gurugram. In one incident, an SUV became trapped after its front wheels sank into a section of the road that had suddenly given way. Similar incidents were reported near the official residences of the Gurugram Deputy Commissioner and Haryana Cabinet Minister Rao Narbir, where vehicles were caught in the damaged roadway as officials rushed to assess the situation.

Persistent rainfall also caused severe waterlogging across several parts of the city, further worsening traffic conditions. Roads in multiple localities remained submerged, forcing motorists to navigate through stagnant water while long queues of cars, buses and trucks stretched across major routes.

Visuals from affected areas showed vehicles inching through flooded roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic on elevated sections of NH-48, reflecting the scale of disruption caused by the combined impact of heavy rain and road damage. Traffic congestion also spread to adjoining roads as diverted vehicles added to the pressure on alternative routes.

In response, the Gurugram Traffic Police issued an advisory asking commuters travelling from Delhi towards Jaipur to avoid the affected section of NH-48. Motorists have been advised to take a left turn at Rajiv Chowk and use the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) as an alternative route. Another diversion has been put in place via Hero Honda Chowk, while authorities have also recommended the Dwarka Expressway as an alternate corridor for traffic arriving from Delhi.

The day's rainfall disrupted normal life across Gurugram, with waterlogging reported in several neighbourhoods and travel times increasing significantly. Officials said traffic personnel have been deployed at key intersections to regulate vehicle movement while repair work and safety measures are being carried out at the collapsed section of the highway.

Authorities have urged commuters to follow the latest traffic advisories, avoid the damaged stretch wherever possible and expect delays until restoration work is completed and normal traffic flow resumes.

AI Photo used for representation