After hot and humid week, skies open up, cause snarls

The Delhi traffic police said severe congestion was reported from Ashram intersection, Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway (DND), Noida Link Road, Vikas Marg, India Gate roundabout, and Connaught Place Outer Circle, among others.

After a hot and humid week, overcast skies gave way to a downpour across the national capital on Friday. The spell of rain that lasted almost three hours resulted in several arterial roads being waterlogged, causing snarls at many places.

Cars seen nearly submerged on a heavily water-logged stretch of road following heavy rains, at Anand Parbat, in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times)

The Delhi traffic police said severe congestion was reported from Ashram intersection, Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway (DND), Noida Link Road, Vikas Marg, India Gate roundabout, and Connaught Place Outer Circle, among others.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an ‘Orange’ alert on Friday morning for Delhi-NCR warning of ‘light to moderate’ rain and thundershowers.

The Safdarjung observatory, considered representative of Delhi’s weather, recorded 23.2mm of rain in the ‘moderate’ category. Delhi Ridge weather station recorded 44mm rain while Palam and Lodhi Road stations got 35.8 mm and 23.6 mm rainfall, respectively. Aya Nagar station, however, recorded only ‘traces’ of rainfall.

“Delhi received moderate rainfall, as the monsoon trough is passing over the city. Over the next two days, ‘light’ to ‘very light’ rain may occur, as the trough will be moving southwards. On September 1 and 2, another spell of moderate rain is expected in Delhi, as the trough is expected to move towards the north by then,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, said.

He added that there was a forecast of light rain over the past week, but the monsoon trough had moved towards the Himalayan foothills because of which there was no rain in Delhi. On August 20 and 21, Delhi had received ‘heavy’ to ‘very heavy’ rainfall.

Residential areas like GK-II, Green Park and Saket saw massive water logging with vehicles struggling to wade through knee-deep water on several stretches. Residents dialed the local municipal offices to pump out the water.

Sanjay Rana, president, GK-II Welfare Association, said there was literally a river flowing outside Savitri Cinema while it was raining. “This is the scenario every time there’s good rainfall.The sewerage system is too old and overflows even with little rain. The sewer lines had to be re-laid, but the process has not started so far,” said Rana.

Malvika Gupta, a resident of Saket D-block, said there was almost knee-deep water in the colony. “It happens every monsoon. It is such a nightmare for residents,” said Gupta.

Commuters were stuck on the road for hours as traffic crawled on waterlogged roads.

Aarti Arora, a commuter, said it took her more than an hour and a half to reach Ashram Chowk from DND Flyway. “There was a long queue on the DND and they were moving at a snail’s pace. It was the same at Ashram Chowk too,” she said.

The rain, coupled with Haryana releasing extra water into the Hathinikund barrage led to a surge in the Yamuna river’s level. By 4pm Friday, the water level in the Yamuna at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge was at 204.41 metres, close to the warning level of 204.50 metres.