Rain halts traffic on waterlogged Delhi roads, flights delayed, diverted
Showers on Tuesday spilled problems for daily commuters with waterlogging and traffic jams reported from across the city. The rain also led to delay and diversion of multiple flights.
Showers on Tuesday spilled problems for daily commuters with waterlogging and traffic jams reported from across the city. The rain also led to delay and diversion of multiple flights.
According to airport officials, nine flights were diverted, and seven delayed. Early morning traffic jams and waterlogging caught passengers off guard, many of them reaching late, and in some cases, even missing flights.
The civic bodies blamed each other for the problem. The municipal corporations said that while all waterlogging points belonged to the public works department (PWD), the latter said corporations were playing politics.
“All major waterlogging point are cleared within an hour of rain. The PWD has enough water pumps to ensure there is no waterlogging. Also, as compared to last year, we have received fewer complaints of waterlogging,” said Satyendar Jain, PWD minister.
The municipal corporations claim they are 100% ready for the monsoon with an action plan. The civic agency had previously said it had completed de-silting of drains a week in advance and had introduced a helpline system to deal with waterlogging.
The corporation said it received 25 complaints, which were addressed within an hour.
Read: Light rain in Delhi NCR, overcast likely to stay today
“Year after year, the civic agencies claim to be ready but all it takes is an hour’s rain to wash away those claims. It took two hours to travel 15 km in the morning and the condition will remain the same in the evening,” said Sanjay Yadav, a daily commuter.
Affected areas included Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Malviya Nagar, Neb Sarai, Rohini, Mundka, Punjabi Bagh, Janakpuri, Vikas Puri, CR Park, Laxmi Nagar, Vikas Margh, Dhaula Kuan, and Azadpur among others.
Municipal corporations have 7,000 big and small drains approximately, which run over 2,900 km in the national capital. The corporations are responsible for de-silting and waterlogging in their areas.
“All major drains under our jurisdiction have already been de-silted. Although like previous years the PWD has once again failed to carry out its duties. We request the Delhi government to pull up the department and its officials and ensure that the work on drains is complete,” said Parvesh Wahi, Standing Committee chairman, North MCD.