First monsoon rain meets rush hour on Tuesday

Flooding was reported from the Pul Prahladpur underpass, near the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. forcing the public works department (PWD) to stop traffic movement for some time.

When the first monsoon shower in Delhi met the morning rush hour on Tuesday, water-logging and traffic jams were reported from several arterial roads across the city. The much-awaited southwest Monsoon finally arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, bringing respite from scorching summer temperatures as 28.1 mm rainfall was recorded at the Safdarjung observatory between 8.30am and 5.30pm, according to IMD data.

Heavy traffic on Ring Road, near the Millennium Park, due to water-logging after morning showers. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal / Hindustan Times)

According to traffic police control room records, roads around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) flyover, Defence Colony flyover, Som Vihar, Dwarka Link Road, Airport underpass, Janakpuri West Metro station, Ashok Vihar, Chhatarpur, Qutub Minar Metro station, Uttam Nagar T-point, Mathura Road near Sarita Vihar traffic signal, and Delhi Cantonment flyover saw ong queues of vehicles trying to negotiate the inundated stretches.

“There was good rainfall in the morning. Water-logging was reported on several arterial roads, slowing down the traffic movement. We ensured that additional traffic policemen were deployed to assist and direct traffic,” said a senior traffic police official asking not to be named.

Flooding was reported from the Pul Prahladpur underpass, near the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. forcing the public works department (PWD) to stop traffic movement for some time.

“As a precautionary measure, we had to stop traffic for about two hours due to heavy water-logging at the Pul Prahladpur underpass. It was caused due to the overflow of a DJB (Delhi Jal Board) sewer line,” a PWD official said.

However, there was no water-logging reported at the Minto Road rail underpass, a spot that gets flooded during the rains every year --- often providing an iconic and customary photograph of a blood submerged in water. PWD officials said elaborate arrangements were made to avoid water accumulation under the bridge.

People posted pictures and videos of water-logged streets on social media, blaming the authorities for the annual problem.

“Traffic in a standstill near Qutub Minar metro station this morning. The first rain brings traffic jams and water-logging in Delhi,” tweeted Vaibhav Bisht.

Another commuter, Vipul Malik, said: “Stuck at the Delhi Cantt flyover for the last 30 minutes. If this is what the first rain does to traffic, do not want to imagine the plight on roads for the next few months.”

Shalini Gupta, a resident of Saket, said every year colony roads get submerged. “The claims made by civic agencies that they have cleaned the drains and ensured proper outflow of stormwater fall flat every year. Some accountability must be fixed,” said Gupta.

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) mayor Mukesh Suryan said, “We have cleaned all drains under our jurisdiction. It is the bigger drains falling under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government departments including PWD and the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) that are choked. Since the smaller drains fall into the bigger drains, the overflowing sewer water flows back and floods residential areas,” he said.

Senior PWD officials rejected claims by the municipalities. They said since the corporations do not remove solid waste properly, it chokes the storm water drains despite being cleaned. “We have completed our desilting process on time. Tonnes of solid waste is dumped in drains, which chokes them and cause water-logging on the roads,” the official said.