Commuters in Delhi had their own share of traffic woes on Friday as heavy rain resulted in waterlogging and subsequent jams on roads across the Capital.
The problem was compounded due to breakdown of vehicles, fallen trees and Kanwariya movement.
“It takes me barely two minutes to cross the Yamuna by Metro. Today I took my car and had to wait for over an hour to travel the same distance,” said Ritesh Chandra, an MNC employees.
Skipping office
The fear of being stuck in jams forced many people to skip office. Those who chose to go, took public transport.
“The app-based cabs charged at least 50 per cent more than their usual rates. Unlike usual, auto-rickshaws were not available on these apps. I had to pay double the fare to an auto-rickshaw driver,” said Deepa Vijay, a West Delhi resident who had to visit South-West Delhi’s Kapashera.
The Traffic Police deployed personnel to deal with the situation and took to social media to update commuters about the affected areas. Several senior traffic officers stayed out on the roads throughout the day.
Their efforts drew praise from social media users even as some pointed out the lack of traffic police personnel at some badly-affected points.
The police also used their own social media handles to share updates by the Gurgaon Police about the situation in the neighbouring city.
Sandeep Goel, Special CP (Traffic), said that he and his officers were in constant touch with their counterparts in Gurgaon. “The traffic jams in Gurgaon did not have any impact on the situation in Delhi,” he said.
The problem in the city began early because of the incessant rains in the morning hours of Friday.
Among the worst affected areas in terms of traffic jams were ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Moti Bagh, AIIMS, Dwarka Link Road, Palam and Wazirabad.
Most of these places were affected because of water-logging and potholes.
At places like Palam Flyover and Satyaniketan, breakdown of DTC buses resulted in slow-moving traffic.
As rains decreased around afternoon, the traffic situation improved considerably. However, the chaos returned around 5 p.m. as heavy rains again lashed the city.
Wet weekend
The weatherman has forecasted cloudy sky with moderate rain and thundershowers on Saturday as well. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 30 degree and 25 degree respectively. Rain and cloudy conditions have been predicted for the coming week as well.
According to officials, Palam airport area received 64 mm rain on Friday — most of it between 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Jafarpur and Ayanagar recorded 49 mm and 41.4 mm of rain respectively.
The maximum temperature was 29.1 degree Celsius, five degree below normal.
BJP on vigil
Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay has directed all MLAs, Municipal Councillors and senior party workers to fan out on the streets on Saturday to help remedy major waterlogging points.
Mr. Upadhyay claimed that the people of Delhi knew that “most major waterlogging points are on Public Works Department (PWD) roads” which reflected, in his view, the failure of the Delhi Jal Board and the PWD.
