Noida, Ghaziabad battered by rain, several places waterlogged

Noida, Ghaziabad and their adjoining regions saw heavy rain Wednesday morning which lasted almost throughout the day, bringing mercury down.

HT Image

According to weather analysts, both Noida and Ghaziabad received an estimated rainfall of around 60 to 70 millimetre (mm) from 8.30am on Wednesday. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Noida had also received an average of 6.5 mm of rainfall between Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

The rain deprived Gautam Budh Nagar district – which, according to the IMD’s records had received only an average of 26.2mm till Tuesday rainfall against an expected 360.9 mm – may see light to moderate rain showers on Thursday.

Rain below 15mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm moderate, and above 64.5mm is heavy.

“Noida and Ghaziabad received heavy rainfall on Wednesday and it’s estimated to be at least 60 to 70mm, though it could be more. The heavy rains could be attributed to favourable weather conditions as the monsoon line of trough passed over Delhi. It’s now shifting northwards, however Thursday could still be rainy with light to moderate rains expected in the morning hours,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD.

The IMD had unmanned weather stations in Noida and Ghaziabad but both have been defunct for over a year and thus are unable to measure local precipitation or rainfall data. However, the regional meteorological centre in New Delhi -- as a pilot project -- has recently started mapping the rainfall in these two cities through the radar that provides estimated rainfall of a number of cities.

The last time Noida saw such heavy rains this season was on July 19, with a recording of 56.7 mm.

On Wednesday, mercury dropped by at least eight degrees Celsius from past 24 hours. Wednesday’s maximum temperature was recorded at 27.7 degrees Celsius, six notches below the season’s average, against 35.7 degrees a day earlier, while humidity oscillated between 100 to 97%.

“The maximum temperatures are set to rise on Thursday and are likely to hover between 32 and 33 degrees Celsius due to likely drop in rains,” said Srivastava.

Meanwhile, a number of places saw waterlogging and many a commuter were affected. While the Mamura underpass of Sector 66 was heavily waterlogged, among the industrial areas like Sector 63 and 62, phase-2, Sector 128, a few places along Noida expressway, Sector 76, Bhangel locality to name a few were hit.

At Sector 63, commuters stated that the condition has not changed a bit over the past few years.

“I live in Sector 46 and my office is in G block of Sector 63, which was all submerged in water. At some places, it was over two metres deep. My son who works in the same company has to leave late, so I suggested him not to come to the office as the condition was really miserable and it could have been dangerous. This is something that happens every year,” said TC Gaur, a resident of Sector 46.

Another resident who was stuck in water logging stated that while the drains were cleaned, water logging still continued. “At a U-turn near Sector 76, there was heavy waterlogging; it was seen at other spots on the road from Sector 70 square towards Bhangel too. The issue is that while the drains were clean, there are no slopes on the roads, thus the water doesn’t drain properly,” said Kartik Sharma, a resident of sector 76.

Several Ghaziabad areas submerged after rain

Massive water-logging was reported from various locations on Wednesday afternoon after the deluge of the morning, which also spelt traffic snarls for residents.

Residents said areas such as Indirapuram, Brij Vihar, Vasundhara, Govindpuram, Shalimar Garden, Navyug Market, and the Gaushala underpass were inundated in rainwater.

“In Indirapuram, localities such as Ahimsa Khand-2, Kala Patthar road witnessed heavy water-logging. As a result, many vehicles submerged in water which had reached up to two feet. Traffic snarls were witnessed on one side of the CISF road as a result of rain-induced water-logging,” said BK Pandey, an Ahimsa Khand-2 resident.

“Construction work is going on one side of the CISF road while the other side (Indirapuram to Vasundhara) witnessed heavy water-logging which resulted in traffic snarls adjacent to the sewage treatment plant,” he added.

In other areas such as Govindpuram, residents found themselves stuck in heavily water-logged roads where many two-wheelers and cars also broke down. “We had to wade through heavily water-logged roads. My two-wheeler broke down in the rain and there was a mechanic available around. Even pedestrians had no clue how to cross the submerged roads” said Nishant Goel, a resident.

As rain lashed the city, a fully-grown tree fell and damaged about four-five cars outside the district headquarters in Raj Nagar. At Indergarhi near Dasna, the wall of a local panchayat office collapsed due to heavy rains. No injuries were reported in both incidents.

The Gaushala underpass a remained submerged in water, forcing commuters going from Ghaziabad city to Vijay Nagar to take alternate routes. In Loni, a two km stretch on the Delhi-Sahranpur road, outside the Loni police station, remained waterlogged.

“Traffic snarls were reported from Bhopra, Sikandarpur, descending side of the Hindon elevated road, near Khoda underpass and also at Loni due to water-logging on Wednesday. However, traffic personnel deployed in the city stayed out and facilitated the movement of vehicles,” said Ramanand Kushwaha, superintendent of police (traffic).

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation said it deployed pumps in various waterlogged spots and the water drained out from most of the areas by 2 to3 pm as the rain subsided.

“There was massive water-logging in several areas and we had to rope in pumps to flush out water. If water doesn’t drain out within two to four hours at a spot, we categorise it as a waterlogged area,” said Pramod Kumar, additional municipal commissioner.

“Since the drains have a limited capacity to carry water, waterlogging was witnessed in low-lying areas but the rain was also heavy on Wednesday. We will rope in more pumps if heavy rain continues,” he added.

He added that most of the 554 small and big drains in the city were de-silted before the monsoon arrived this year. “Work on cleaning the rest of the drains is also going on and will be finished soon,” Kumar said.

Residents in Kaushambi, however, said they experienced less waterlogging this year. “In light of the petition the residents had filed with the National Green Tribunal about construction of drains, the municipal corporation had renovated/built about 18 drains. Hence, the water drained out very fast this year. There was some water-logging but not as massive as last year,” said VK Mittal, president of Kaushambi Apartments’ RWA (residents welfare association).