Heavy rain brings capital to a halt, several areas waterlogged

Several parts of Delhi witnessed waterlogging due to the long spell of rains that have lashed the city but left motorists to face traffic woes on many arterial roads, especially during the morning peak hours

The incessant rain that lashed the national capital since Thursday resulted in several parts of Delhi being waterlogged and threw vehicular movement into chaos on Friday, even as hundreds of traffic police personnel got busy clearing jams and removing hurdles such as uprooted trees and broken down vehicles.

Vehicles drive though a waterlogged road in Delhi. (PTI)

Motorists were left ruing the traffic conditions, especially during the morning and evening rush hour. Many took to social media to lament about the chaos and non-functional traffic signals, and to request the presence of traffic personnel on certain stretches. Some of them also shared screenshots of Google Map, where most roads and routes appeared as crimson streaks, indicative of high traffic volume and delayed travel time.

According to the Delhi Traffic Police, till 6pm, their control room received 12 calls related to waterlogging, 22 calls related to uprooting of trees and 19 calls about traffic jams. The number of calls increased by late night, as the downpour continued. The traffic police also used its social media platforms to alert the public about waterlogged areas and inundated stretches, and advised people to avoid those places/routes.

The areas from where citizens sought assistance for clearing trees included Defence Colony, Kalkaji, Jangpura, Panchsheel Park, Malviya Nagar, Asiad Village, Vasant Kunj, New Friends Colony, Modi Mill and Safdarjung Enclave.

Other affected areas included Mandi Village, Okhla, Sector 17 Rohini, Mangolpuri, Block F Mangolpuri, West Patel Nagar and Chhatarpur. “Teams from maintenance and horticulture departments have been deployed to clear trees,” a traffic police officer said, asking not to be named.

A portion of a parapet wall collapsed at the Hindu Rao hospital, damaging a car and four two-wheelers parked nearby the operation theatre complex. A senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official said the parapet wall of the OT complex had weakened in the rain. “It fell on vehicles and a few got damaged. No injury or loss of life was reported,” the official said, asking not to be named.

Traffic police said even with all the chaos, the traffic situation on Friday was much better than that on Thursday, because unlike Thursday, when it rained heavily, the rain was intermittent and of moderate intensity on Friday.

“The volume of vehicles during the morning and evening peak hours was comparatively less than that on Thursday. It may be because the authorities in Gurugram asked private and government employees to work from home, while the Gautam Budh Nagar administration ordered the closure of schools up to Class 8 on Friday.”said a senior traffic police officer, who asked not to be named.

“The other reason could be that on Friday, the rainfall was not as heavy as on Thursday. The traffic situation would have been worse had there been a heavy downpour,” the officer added .

Around 9.30am, the traffic police’s Twitter handle mentioned seven places across the city as waterlogged and asked commuters to avoid stretches such the Libaspur underpass, Maharani Bagh-Taimoor Nagar exit, CDR Chowk, Mehrauli towards Gurugram, Andheria Mor towards Vasant Kunj, under the Nizamuddin bridge, Mathura Road between W-Point and Delhi Zoo, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road towards Sainik Farm carriageway, Aurobindo Marg near Adhchini, Anuvrat Marg near Qutub Minar, Pandit Pant Marg near Central Secretariat, Rani Jhansi Road near Azad Market and Singhu Border near petrol pump.

Major snarls were seen on NH-44 between Sarai Kale Khan and Lajpat Nagar on both carriageways, Barapullah flyover near INA market, Outer Ring Road near Wazirabad, Boat Club near Civil Lines and Pitampura, Najafgarh-Phirni Road and Najafgarh-Nangloi Road, Delhi-Rohtak Road between Nangloi Bus Depot and Mundka Metro Station, Rajdhani Park, from Sarai Rohilla till Zakhira flyover, Karkari Mor Preet Vihar to Ghazipur flyover, and Bhagwan Mahavir Marg from Rohini court till Rithala Metro station.

Traffic police officers several underpasses were waterlogged and their personnel were working in coordination with civic and road authorities to dewater these places. However, the Minto Road and Pul Prahladpur underpasses, which are infamous for their waterlogging during rains, remained unaffected on Thursday and Friday. Six water pumps were placed at the Pul Prahladpur underpass to drain out rainwater, the officers said, adding that similar arrangements were made for Minto Road underpass as well.

Road cave-ins and breakdown of buses and other vehicles were also reported from places, and traffic in these places had to be re-routed, traffic personnel said.

“On the stretch towards Sarai Kale Khan from Lajpat Nagar, a three-wheeled good carrier broke down near Kilokri. By the time that was removed, a DTC bus broke down on the same carriageway during the evening rush hour, further hampering traffic movement,” said a traffic police officer posted there.

Apart from the jams, several social media users also reported non-functioning traffic lights. One such user named Manik Malhotra tweeted around 7:30am, “@dtptraffic Vivek Vihar Surya Nagar Ramprastha to Dilshad Garden Apsara border Road No 56 traffic signal not working.”

The traffic police redirected all complaints to the traffic inspectors concerned.