Heavy showers drenched Delhiites on Friday, leaving many of them on the roads as traffic went haywire due to water logging while a minor girl lost her life when the boundary wall of a hospital collapsed.
It was raining heavily since early morning and the rain gauges measured 91.1 mm of showers between 4 a.m. and 12 noon, leading to chaos on roads as improper drainage and uprooted trees led to traffic disruption.
The rain gauges measured 36.6 mm between 4 am to 8:30 am while another 55.1 mm was recorded in the next three and half hours, the MeT Department said. September last year received the highest rainfall (332.9 mm) in ten years.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 25.1 degree Celsius, normal for this time of the year, as against Thursday’s 26.1 degrees. The maximum was recorded at 34.2 degree Celsius Thursday.
The heavy showers led to the death of a minor girl when a boundary wall of an MCD hospital in Gautam Colony of Narela collapsed at around 7:30 am. Some children on their way to school were trapped inside, they said.
Exposing the claims of civic bodies’ better preparedness this time to tackle rains, water logging and traffic problems were reported from across the city.
Vehicles were seen wading through water in almost all parts of the city.
As traffic went haywire, some commuters parked their vehicles at nearby Metro stations and boarded trains to their destinations.
“I generally take 25 minutes to reach my office in Gole Market from Jangpura but today it took more than an hour. There was water logging all around. Auto drivers were not ready to take passengers due to heavy water logging,” said Anindita Dasgupta, an official working in a government department.
“The water was waist-high from Ashram to Lajpat Nagar,” said a commuter Sonam Goel.
Traffic was affected due to water logging at Rail Bhavan near Parliament, Rafi Marg, Vikas Marg, Africa Avenue, GGR-PDR Road, Adhchini, Mayapuri chowk, Naraina road, IP flyover, Kalindi Kunj, Malviya Nagar and Yusuf Sarai.
Water logging was also reported near Patparganj flyover, Defence Colony flyover, Lala Lajpat Rai road, GTB road, Patel Chest to Daulat Ram College, Prahladpur, Keshav Chowk Railway bridge, DND flyover, Maharani Bagh and Govindpuri.
Ashram Chowk, Niti Bagh, MB road, Air Force Station, Pamposh Enclave, Nehru Place, Saket Court, Lado Sarai and Shivaji Stadium metro station were other places where water logging and traffic problems were reported.
A senior police official said traffic movement was also slow due to water logging from OP Marg to IIT as well as Loni road, Durga Puri chowk, Khajuri to Brijpuri, Kishan Ganj railway bridge, Azad Nagar to Shahadra, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Shanti Van, Janakpuri, Sagarpur and PHQ.
“Traffic movement is slow on Akbar road due to an uprooted tree. At CGO Complex on Lodhi Road, the entire approach road to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium metro station is water logged,” the official said.
Tilak Bridge, Mathura Road, Purana Qila, Laxmi Nagar metro station, Vikaspuri and Shahdra under pass are the other areas where water logging has been reported.
In east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar area, water has entered many houses and pumps are being used to clear the water.
