First heavy rain of season leaves the Capital flooded

At least two people drowned in separate incidents as showers that lashed Delhi on Sunday morning triggered water-logging in several low-lying areas, stranded commuters

At least two people drowned in separate incidents as showers that lashed Delhi on Sunday morning triggered water-logging in several low-lying areas, stranded commuters and vehicles on flooded roads, and washed away several structures with storm water drains overflowing in the wake of the first spell of heavy rains in the national capital this monsoon.

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Delhi, which logged a rain deficit of 55% from June 1 till Saturday, witnessed heavy showers for three hours early in the morning. According to weather officials, south Delhi’s Safdarjung station recorded 74.8mm rainfall during the day, its highest for a single day in July in five years. Before this, the station recorded 93.8mm rainfall on July 11, 2015.

Delhi Ridge and Lodhi Road also saw 86mm and 81.2mm rainfall, respectively, data from the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre showed.

Rainfall between 64.5mm and 124.4mm is considered “heavy” rain by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“Most of the heavy rain we received today was between 5.30am and 8.30am... moderate category rain is expected again on July 20 night or July 21 early morning,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre.

A 56-year-old man, Kundan Singh Mehra, drowned as he tried to navigate his tempo through eight feet-deep water on the Minto Road underpass near central Delhi’s Connaught Place, the police said.

“He tried to manoeuvre his vehicle through the water, but couldn’t make it,” said Rajender Dubey, assistant commissioner of police (Barakhamba Road).

Mehra sat on his submerged mini truck for several minutes before his death, according to a video clip that was authenticated by his family members who said passersby did not try to rescue him. Fire officials, who rescued three others stranded there, said they were unaware there was a fourth person.

Mehra’s body was later spotted by a linesman working nearby.

The area near Minto Road railway bridge, which has become emblematic of the annual water-logging issue in the Capital, went under water. Photos on social media showed a Delhi Transportation Corporation (DTC) submerged under the bridge.

Dramatic videos also showed people wading through knee-deep waters, several structures collapsing due to gushing drain water in Anna Nagar near ITO in central Delhi, and traffic chaos on arterial roads hours after showers relented.

“Since my childhood I have seen almost every year, photographs of DTC bus submerged in water under Minto bridge during monsoon. Why can’t engineers, town planners & civic agency officials fix it? Let only one agency, whose name should be prominently displayed there, own & fix it,” senior Delhi Police officer Muktesh Chander, who was the former chief of the traffic police, said on Twitter.

In another incident, a 28-year-old labourer working at a scrap yard died after falling into three-feet-deep water in south-east Delhi’s Srinivaspuri, the police said.

A boy, 8, is believed to have been swept away in river water in south-east Delhi’s Jaitpur, but the police said there was no clarity if this was a rain-related death.

At least 20 trees were uprooted in Sunday morning showers and two buildings in east Delhi’s Lakshmi Nagar and Shanti Mohalla in Gandhi Nagar collapsed, fire department officials said.

The police said one of the three domes of the 197-year-old Mubarak Begum mosque in Hauz Qazi in old Delhi was severely damaged in the rain. “No one was around the mosque when it happened. There have been no injuries due to the damage,” said a Delhi Police official.

Even as authorities rushed to manage the chaos, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to criticism by opposition parties, and said all government and civic agencies must work together in the Capital instead of indulging in blame-game at a time when the city is battling the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

“This year all agencies, which include the Delhi government and the municipal corporations, were completely invested in managing corona. They have faced a lot of difficulties due to Corona. This is no time to get into any blame game. All agencies must join hands in fulfilling their responsibilities. We will make all efforts to clear areas where waterlogging is reported at the earliest,” the chief minister wrote on Twitter.

Citing images of the submerged bus at Minto Road, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Badarpur MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri questioned Kejriwal on his promise to make Delhi a world-class city. “In a short spell of rain, Delhi roads are flooded with water. Who is responsible for the death of the person [at Minto Bridge]?” Bidhuri tweeted.

On criticism that the Delhi government failed to de-silt drains – a process that is normally undertaken by authorities before monsoon — Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson and vice-chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board Raghav Chadha said the work was delayed due to Covid-19.

The traffic police issued advisories for commuters after vehicles came to a standstill along key stretches such IP Estate Marg (central Delhi), Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg (central Delhi), Dhaula Kuan (south Delhi), Mayapuri Chowk (west Delhi), Panchkuian Road Gol Chakkar (central Delhi), and near Apollo Hospital (south-east Delhi), among others, due to water-logging and uprooted trees. Most jams cleared up by the evening.

Experts have said although Delhi received heavy rainfall, the damage in the national capital was disproportionate to the amount of rain.

“The topography of Delhi is such that we should never see flooding here... The reason we see such flooding even after a couple of hours of rain is because we are not allowing the water to find its own path. We have not taken care of the natural drainage...,” said Manoj Mishra, convenor of NGO Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan.