Heavy rain through Friday kept large parts of Gurugram confined indoors for a second consecutive day, with the district administration’s work-from-home advisory still in effect and residents in several localities choosing to stay off flooded roads altogether rather than risk their commute. The city had recorded around 97 mm of rainfall on Friday.Old Gurugram once again emerged as the city’s most vulnerable stretch, with Sheetla Mata Road and its surrounding areas bearing the maximum brunt of waterlogging. As many as 28 points across the city emerged as key waterlogging challenges this monsoon, officials said, with Sheetla Mata Road topping the list. Among the 28 challenging areas were Dundahera and colonies such as Surat Nagar, Bajghera, Dhanwapur road old city bus stand area, old Delhi road, etc.Shopkeepers downed shutters early, narrow lanes turned into knee deep channels, and residents said the area’s chronic flooding has become an annual ordeal rather than an exception. It may be noted that Sheetla Mata road is becoming a constant trouble point.Two days ago, videos of the Chief Minister’s convoy caught in flooding near Sheetla Mata Temple went viral.Officials and residents pointed to encroachment on stormwater drains and unchecked illegal colonies as the underlying cause of old Gurugram’s recurring crisis. Areas including Sector 9, Kadipur and the NH-8 corridor continue to face flooding due to encroachments on stormwater drains, with excessive structural load in densely populated urban villages further crippling the drainage network. Sectors 17 and 14, which have a large number of stilt-plus-four houses, saw the drainage network overburdened well beyond its designed capacity, officials said.GMDA Chief Executive Officer PC Meena said encroachment remained the core obstacle to a lasting fix. He said encroachments along the city’s primary drainage channels had been cleared this year, though he acknowledged that some smaller drains were still encroached upon and would be taken up next.Residents in Old Gurugram said the pattern has repeated for years despite repeated assurances from civic agencies, with narrow, encroached lanes leaving little room for desilting machinery to operate during the monsoon.MCG chief transferred, then reinstated within 24 hoursIn a plot twist straight out of Gurugram’s classic monsoon drama, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram Commissioner Pradeep Dahiya was transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak, even as the city battled its heaviest rain of the season. Within 24 hours, the order was reversed and Dahiya was back at his desk as Commissioner, MC Gurugram. Residents were left wondering what had changed in a day, even as the state government insisted the reshuffle was routine and unconnected to the rainfall.Waterlogging leaves students, teachers stranded at schoolWaterlogging on Friday left schoolchildren and teachers virtually stranded at Footprints School on Dhanwapur Road, with rainwater accumulation around the campus blocking their way out and preventing parents from reaching the school to pick up their children. School authorities alerted the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s monsoon helpline, prompting a rescue operation.An MCG team, arranged vehicles to ferry the children and staff out of the flooded stretch to safety, after which they were handed over to parents.