Parts submerged, waterlogged roads force Delhi traffic to a standstill

Traffic police said mostly it was underpasses that got submerged after heavy rain was recorded on Wednesday morning. Prominent among the underpasses where traffic movement had to be stopped was Pul Prahladpur in south-east Delhi.

Even as the first monsoon showers on Thursday brought respite from the excessive heat, parts of the Capital witnessed waterlogging and traffic jams keeping the traffic personnel and officials of the civic agencies busy throughout the day.

A view of the underpass partially submerged in logged rain water after heavy rain at Pul Prahladpur in New Delh, India, on Thursday, June 30, 2022. (Photo by Amal KS/Hindustan Times)

Traffic police said mostly it was underpasses that got submerged after heavy rain was recorded on Wednesday morning. Prominent among the underpasses where traffic movement had to be stopped was Pul Prahladpur in south-east Delhi. However, they added, that the recently opened Ashram underpass and the carriageway underneath Minto Bridge stayed open for traffic throughout the day.

Delhi received 116.6mm rain between 8.30am and 5.30pm on Wednesday, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

According to officials, waterlogging complaints were received from Ring Road stretch between Dhaula Kuan and AIIMS, ITO, Barapullah corridor near AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital, Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road, Sadar Bazar, Zakhira underpass at Inderlok, Grand Trunk (GT) Road between Apsara Border and Anand Vihar, Aurobindo Marg and stretches on Delhi-Meerut expressway.

Public Works Department (PWD) officials said by evening most of the stretches were cleared.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the PWD portfolio, held a meeting with officials on Thursday evening to take stock of the situation.

Officials who attended the meeting said six of the seven most waterlogging-prone zones did not report flooding.

“On Thursday, the first day of the onset of monsoon in Delhi, the entire city received heavy rains for hours. But due to the alertness of the officials of PWD, MCD, irrigation and flood control department and revenue department, and the steps taken to deal with the problem of waterlogging in the last one year, Delhiites did not have to face any problem in most places,” Sisodia said.

He also instructed the PWD officials to triple the number of pumps at Pul Prahladpur within two days.

The Pul Prahladpur railway underpass, which gets flooded during monsoon every year and has claimed two lives since July 2021, was shut down for vehicular movement on both the carriageways soon after rains began on Thursday morning. The closure of underpass, between 11am and 6.30pm, caused traffic jams on the adjoining roads between Mehrauli and Badarpur. Traffic was restored on the stretch after 6.30pm, traffic officials said.

According to traffic police data, 33 calls related to flooding of roads were received from across the city between 8.45am and 3.30pm.

“Also, 68 calls about traffic jams were also received. Nearly 90% of our staff, including senior functionaries, were on the streets to tackle traffic jams, waterlogging issues and regulate the flow of traffic. We also frequently posted advisories and updates regarding waterlogging and traffic jams on our social media handles,” said additional commissioner of police (traffic) Shibesh Singh.

Six calls related to falling/uprooting of trees were also received, civic and PWD officials said. Portion of an old building collapsed in a narrow street in central Delhi’s Paharganj area. However, no injuries were reported. The adjacent houses were vacated while the operation to remove the debris was being carried out.

According to the monsoon report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday, maximum waterlogging complaints came from the Shahdara (South) zone which includes areas in east Delhi, and the Central zone which encompasses south and central Delhi areas.

Some social media users also posted photos claiming waterlogging in the Pragati Maidan tunnel. However, HT could not verify the image. When asked, a senior Delhi Traffic Police officer said no complaint was received from the area. A PWD official said, “Due to the slope and gradient, if it rains, water will flow inwards, but the pumps installed cleared water quickly, and there was no traffic disruption.”

On June 8, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had reviewed the measures to be undertaken to curb waterlogging during the monsoon, and directed the initiate long-term measures to address the annual problem. The long-term measures included expediting work on a new drainage plan for the city and improving drains and roads in the Capital.