India, July 13 -- All it took was 115 mm of rain over two days to expose the cracks beneath Gurugram's gleaming skyline. Beyond its glass towers and corporate offices lay another Gurugram, where roads caved in, school buses and other vehicles skidded into gaping potholes, government buildings were inundated and residential lanes disappeared under rainwater.

I had seen Gurugram sinking under monsoon rains in countless news reports. This time, as I reported from the ground, the story unfolded before my eyes, and it was different. While several residents told me the situation had improved this year, with water receding from major roads within two to three hours, what stood out was a more pressing concern: the quality of Gurugram's roads.

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