In the aftermath of the heavy rain that battered Delhi-NCR on July 31, a Gurugram man recounted his experience as he witnessed “both sides of humanity” while navigating his way home. Gaurav Gupta, in a post on X, said that he would remember that night for a long time because strangers on the road helped him “without any reason” while police officials “showed no empathy”.
Gaurav Gupta, a realtor by profession, was caught in the chaos on Wednesday night as heavy rain battered the national capital.
“Yesterday was quite an evening in Gurgaon. I got late from a meeting that was inside a building that didn’t give me a view of the outside. I knew it had rained but had no idea by how much. I was not very far away from home. The regular route showed an hour, which was surprising so I took a shortcut suggested by maps,” he said in his post.
As he opted for the shortcut suggested by Google Maps, he landed up on a “small street behind MGF Mall, which was waterlogged up to people’s knees”. The situation worsened although Gupta was cautious enough while driving on the waterlogged road. In vain though, as several other cars were stuck on the road. Some people, in the meantime, asked Gupta to take the main route in order to prevent a mishap.
“The shortcut took me through a small street behind MGF malls, which was waterlogged up to people’s knees. I kept pushing the car forward that was making waves. I was careful, mindful of the recent delhi coaching incident, but also worried about the car stalling in the water. After about 1.5 km I saw a BMW and a Honda City stuck, those guys couldn’t start their cars. Onlookers advised me to turn around and take the main route,” he said.
To add to his woes, his car’s low fuel alarm began to blink. After an hour in traffic, he decided to park in front of Platinum Tower and search for a cab.
“The low fuel alarm had been blinking since the evening which I had thought I would get it filled on my way home and now after spending over an hour in this traffic the car went on reserve. I was furious, scared, and confused. Should I proceed and risk the car coming to a halt?”
Gupta’s attempt to walk through knee-deep water turned into a nightmare. “Worst Decision Ever, Never Do it,” he advised.
“Would have barely walked 300 metres when I heard people shouting, telling me to get out of the water and move to the divider,” he said.
What happened next left Gupta horrified. “They kept pointing at two bodies that were lying there probably electrocuted. It was really dark but i didn’t really have the guts to look at them. Was completely shaken to the core. That sudden realisation of how easy it is to die in this country.”
He was profoundly grateful to those who chose to stay and warn others, potentially saving lives. “Those strangers could have gone home but chose to stay and warn others and helped them from meeting the same fate. They definitely saved my life,” Gupta said.
Somehow, he managed to reach home but a thought bothered him continuously: “I reached home and kept thinking ‘what if.’”
That night, unable to sleep, Gupta stepped out at 4am to get his car before water levels rose again. He found a cab, and upon reaching his car, noticed the starkly different scenario from what he had seen hours ago — the roads were now empty.
“Around 4 am when I couldn’t get any sleep i thought I should get my car before water levels rise further. I got a cab which I didnt think I would and asked the driver if things were better. He said, ‘Ji bhaiya, ab toh paani utar gaya hai.’ I saw my car and the empty roads, a very different scenario from what I had seen a few hours back. I looked at the spot where the bodies were, they were not there anymore,” Gupta said.
His ordeal didn’t end there. As he refueled his car, two police officials on a bike stopped him.
“The policemen I didn’t see in the evening were now conveniently there to collect their ‘share’ for keeping me alive,” he said.
Enraged, Gupta kept arguing “if this was really what they should be doing after such a bad evening for everyone. They didn’t care”.
Gupta added: “His colleague came and said, ‘Sir kyu argue kar rahe ho? 500 do aur jao’ (Why are you arguing with us, just pay and leave.) And that’s what I did”.
Despite his frustration, he handed over the money and moved on.
Gaurav Gupta reflected on the “night” as one he would “remember for a long time”. The “eventful” evening showed him “both sides of humanity”.
“I will remember this eventful evening for a long time, it showed me both sides of humanity. Strangers helping others for no reason at all while cops who should help showed no empathy at all. A Night to Remember. Gurgaon,” Gupta concluded his now-viral post, which has clocked over 3.5 lakh views.
Take a look at his post here:
Three people were electrocuted after coming into contact with electric wires under a tree near IFFCO Chowk Metro Station, police said, news agency PTI reports.
Heavy rain lashed Delhi on Wednesday evening, as the national capital received record rain in a single day, breaking its 14-year record. The rain left several parts of the city waterlogged as traffic movement was affected severely, with citizens left stranded for hours. As many as 10 people died as a result of rain-related incidents, five in Delhi, and two in Greater Noida, apart from three in Gurugram.
Source Agencies
