Waterlogging greets city after morning showers

Traffic jams were witnessed across the city on Wednesday with the arrival of the first major showers.

Traffic jams were witnessed across the city on Wednesday with the arrival of the first major showers.

HT Image

Office-goers complained that civic apathy led to waterlogging yet again this year, causing road space to shrink. The control rooms of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) received several complaints of waterlogging from many parts of the city.

People had to deal with jams in the evening as well, as rain lashed the city again.

Waterlogging was reported near Moolchand, Sarai Kale Khan, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Sarita Vihar, Okhla, Kalkaji, New Friends Colony, Ashram, Vikas Marg. Traffic jams were witnessed on Dhauli Piyao to Vikaspuri stretch, Outer ring road, Vikas Marg towards ITO, arterial roads to Greater Kailash part I.

Due to the Sunday’s structural collapse at the Zamrudpur Metro site, traffic leading to Nehru Place as well as Moolchand led to further traffic chaos in south Delhi area. Clogged drains that lead to waterlogging in various parts of the city were supposed to be desilted by the MCD way back in May. Despite claims of carrying out desilting all throughout the year, the MCD missed the May 31 deadline once again.

Not only this, the silt that was taken out has been flowing back into the drains at many spots. But the civic body is busy claiming that more than 90 per cent of the work has been finished.
The civic body had missed the desilting deadline last year too. Waterlogged roads also lead to pothole formation.

The city received 3.4 mm rainfall on Wednesday, but waterlogged roads may be a rare sight this year thanks to less rainfall. For Delhi, things have been going from bad to worse since June.

Last year from June 1 to July 15, Delhi had received 200 mm of rainfall. But this year, the figures during the same period is an abysmal 31.8 mm.

Last month, the Met office had said Northwest India — Delhi and neighbouring states in the North — would receive around 81 per cent of what it generally receives every year. But the first leg of monsoon shows no signs of reaching anywhere close to that.

“July rainfall should be less than 50 per cent of its usual quota of 225 mm in Delhi,” said O.P. Sharma, chief meteorologist at Skymet, a private weather services company.

Delhi is supposed to receive around 618 mm of rains from June to Spetember, but the Met office has said the actual amount this time will be lesser this year.