The people of Gurgaon and Delhi were stuck in massive traffic jams in the NCR, with some people taking as long as five to seven hours to reach their destinations. (Image by Twitter)

The new age cities of Gurugram (Gurgaon), Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi – that should have been known as the epitome of urban development – have sadly been reduced to places that are frequently in news for traffic snarls, poor development, water logged and caved in roads. Instead of enjoying good monsoon, each rainfall turns into a nightmare for residents of these metropolitan hubs. The last few days have been no different, with these major cities coming to a virtual (and literal!) standstill due to heavy and incessant rains. People have taken to Twitter to express their anger and target the state governments for poor management. We take a look at the situation in all four cities:

Gurgaon and Delhi: The people of Gurgaon and Delhi were stuck in massive traffic jams in the NCR, with some people taking as long as five to seven hours to reach their destinations. Gurgaon in particular saw a huge crisis erupting, with water logged roads leaving people stranded for hours. Gurgaon’s Hero Honda Chowk served to be a major pain point for many, with jams on NH-8 extending up to 15-20 kms. Images and videos showed motorists abandoning their vehicles and wading through knee-deep water on the Delhi-Jaipur road, including Hero Honda Chowk. Today, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari asked NHAI to step in to ease the situation on the Hero Honda Chowk. Around 6 pumps are being used to make the water level recede. Thousands of office goers and other commuters were stranded. Authorities were forced to shut down schools in Delhi’s satellite city while some offices too declared it an off.

Also read: Gurgaon drowns: ‘Boats required urgently’, residents tweet to CM, PM

Bengaluru: Reeling under heavy rains, several parts of Bengaluru have turned into small lakes. The situation in IT city has become so grim that fire department is using boats to rescue passengers stranded in rains and traffic jams. Bengaluru Traffic Police is posting regular updates on their Facebook page, informing people of the vehicle movement in various parts of the city. “3 feet water between Silkboard Jn & Jaydeva Hosp Jn, BTM Layout. our cops are doing there best and putting maximum effort to manage the traffic,” said a morning update. “Overflowing lake water at 29th Main, BTM. Local police trying to clear the water drains,” said a recent post.

Mumbai: Rains and the troubles they bring, are not new to the financial capital of India. Owing to heavy rains, massive jams are being witnessed all over the city and the famous Western Express highway has been choked since last night. According to Skymet, the city has been receiving good rains and 110 mm rain has been received during the last 24 hours. According to the weather forecasting agency, the city has surpassed its monthly mean figures for the month of July. Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected in the city in the next 24 to 48 hours, the agency said.

Meanwhile, prominent personalities like Kiran Majumdar Shaw and Mohandas Pai today slammed state governments for the ongoing traffic and water logging crisis in major cities across the country. Calling for greater investment in building and maintaining infrastructure, they have said that much more needs to be done to ensure better lives for the people living in cities.