Incessant rain slows down traffic, inundates areas in G Noida
Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY has ordered all government and private schools up to class 8 to remain shut on Friday (September 23) in view of the incessant rain
It rained throughout the day on Thursday, heaping miseries on road commuters who had to tackle slow moving traffic and waterlogged roads during the morning and evening rush hour.
Congestion was seen at the Kalindi Kunj and DND Flyway borders with Delhi, as well as along busy junctions such as Parthala Chowk, Surajpur and Lal Kuan. Traffic police said while it did rain throughout the day, it was mostly light to moderate rain, at least in Noida and Greater Noida.
“We managed traffic by keep the vehicles moving, albeit slowly. We did not allow them to stop or idle lest that leads to a bottleneck. It rained through the day but there was no major traffic jam. We also kept commuters updated through our social media handles about areas with slow moving traffic. Breakdown of vehicles in some areas was a concern,” said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Ganesh Prasad Saha.
According to Minakshi Gupta, a regular commuter, traffic near Noida-Delhi borders is predictable every time it rains. The travel time, she says, invariably doubles. “My travel from Noida to Delhi’s ITO usually takes half an hour, but it is never less than hour whenever it rains. I left home early on Thursday as it had started raining early morning itself, but I was still late for office,” she said.
Additionally, heavy traffic was also seen near Botanical Garden area as the low height barriers installed to stop heavy vehicles from entering the area collapsed and fell on the road.
While there was no damage to life or property, it hindered traffic for nearly an hour, before traffic and authority officials cleared the road.
The retreating monsoon is causing heavy rainfall throughout various states since Wednesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for several parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR areas, including Gautam Budh Nagar till Friday and has alerted to the possibility of very heavy rainfall in some parts.
Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY has ordered all government and private schools up to class 8 to remain shut on Friday (September 23) in view of the incessant rain and an alert from the meteorological department that rain would continue on Friday.
The weatherman predicted moderate rainfall and thundershowers in Noida and Ghaziabad till Friday. On Thursday, the district recorded a minimum temperature of 23 degrees Celsius (°C) and a maximum of 34°, about a degree below the normal for this time of the year.
Around 5mm rainfall was recorded till Thursday morning in Gautam Budh Nagar, which is a departure of 567% from the normal, according to the IMD. More rainfall was seen through the day as well and the data on this will be available only later.
Rains throughout the day also led to minor waterlogging, mostly in parts of Greater Noida. Parts of Beta and Gamma sectors along with Surajpur saw inundated areas and stretches.
