Two hours of heavy rain on Friday evening plunged the Capital into chaos leaving roads waterlogged and commuters stuck in traffic for hours. The rain came after heavy overcast conditions plunged the city into near darkness in the afternoon.
A Meteorological Department official said that data from the Safdarjung observatory, the recordings of which are considered official figures for Delhi, showed that the city received 52.4 mm of rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.
The Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories recorded 14.2 mm, 44.2 mm, 118.4 mm and 71.4 mm of rain respectively during the same period.
Around 2,500 Traffic Police personnel had to be deployed to regulate traffic, while the police tweeted out areas that motorists should avoid. Commuters faced problems at Zakhira flyover, Kamal T-Point, Anand Parbat, Y-Point old railway bridge at Kishan Ganj, Azad Market and near the old iron bridge at Dharmpura.
Traffic congestion was also witnessed on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg.
“All recovery vans were put in service to clear affected stretches. Senior officers of the traffic unit were at their respective areas to monitor traffic situation and share information to regulate traffic,” said Arun Kampani, Joint CP (Traffic).
There was heavy waterlogging under Tilak Bridge, Modi Mill flyover, Dhaula Kuan flyover and near Welcome metro station.
A civic body report stated that eight areas in south Delhi were also waterlogged, including Vasant Kunj, Neb Sarai, R.K. Puram Sector 2, Greater Kailash 1, Maharani Bagh and Pragati Maidan.
In north Delhi, 32 areas were waterlogged.
There were also reports that a portion of a house had fallen in Kamla Nagar, and that a wall had collapsed in Anand Parbat.
Waterlogging was also reported from areas around Mayapuri flyover, Naraina flyover, Bhairon Marg, Airport Road, Mathura Road, Moolchand underpass, Chhatarpur metro station, Baba Khadak Singh Marg, Defence Colony flyover and Shadipur metro station.
Several parts of Lady Hardinge Medical College and attached hospitals were also flooded.
“Calls about waterlogging were immediately forwarded to civic agencies concerned through a hotline. We also forwarded six calls about uprooted trees,” said a traffic police official.
Trees were also uprooted near the Ashok Vihar traffic signal and the ILBS Hospital traffic signal in Vasant Vihar.
The Delhi Metro’s services on the Magenta Line were also disrupted for over two-and-a-half hours due to a technical snag.
“Services were affected due to OHE (overhead electricity) problem between R.K. Puram and the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Terminal 1 station around 4.10 p.m,” said an official of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Normal services on the line, which connects Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, resumed at 6.40 p.m.
Taking the metro
To avoid traffic congestion on the road, many commuters opted for the metro.
“With reports of major traffic jams across the city, it was pointless to waste time on the streets. I decided to take the metro instead and there were no major delays or hold ups any where,” said Geeta Rani, who took the metro to come to ITO, which witnessed stagnant traffic for several hours.
The maximum temperature on Friday was 34.2 degrees Celsius, two notches below average. The minimum temperature was 27.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above average.
The weatherman has forecast overcast skies, along with the possibility of light rain on Saturday.
“The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 32 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively,” a Met department official said.
(With PTI inputs)
