Traffic disruptions continue at key sites in Delhi after overnight rainfall
A convergence of thunderclouds on Wednesday evening led to rain in Delhi and the National Capital Region with initial extremely intense rainfall of over 50mm per hour
Traffic disruptions continued at key sites such as ITO, Rajghat, and Anuvrat Marg on Thursday after heavy overnight rainfall led to waterlogging in the national capital and prompted the Public Works Department (PWD) to close Minto Bridge, Pul Prahladpur, Jakhira, and Kirari underpasses. A house collapse in Subzi Mandi left two people injured while vehicles were damaged following a wall collapse in Daryaganj.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said parts of Delhi were expected to get scattered drizzle to light rain on Thursday morning. A yellow alert, which relates to the bad weather that can potentially get worse, has been sounded for the rest of Thursday with light to moderate rainfall likely in parts of Delhi.
Officials said Moolchand and Tilak Bridge underpasses were waterlogged but they remained open for traffic. “Most of the waterlogging along the main PWD roads was cleared overnight except ITO. Over five pumps were deployed at ITO to clear the water,” said an official.
Delhi Police said underpasses in Zakhira, Okhla, Ashram, and Kishanganj (Azad market) were dewatered but uprooted trees continued to impact traffic flow at Sector-1 Dwarka, Rajapuri crossing and Golf Course Road, Sector 16 Dwarka. A road cave-in at Dhaula Kuan led closure of the affected areas for traffic.
“We noticed much leakage from the DJB pipeline near the Minto Bridge underpass and closed it for traffic movement as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident. At the surface level, waterlogging was reported from ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Sadar Bazaar, and some other areas along the Ring Road,” said a PWD official.
Waterlogging was also reported from Lodhi Colony, Patiala House Court, Nyay Marg, Hanuman Road, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Chanakyapuri, Laxmi Nagar and Kaka Nagar. Visuals of a waterlogged road outside the new Parliament went viral on social media along with waterlogged corridors of Connaught Place.
Amit Gupta, a member of the New Delhi Traders Association, said several corridors and parking areas of Connaught Place were flooded and entered some shops. “Water was flowing back from Panchkuian Road. There was waterlogging in A Block Middle Circle, H Block, and G Block...many shops suffered damage. The Middle Circle has a service tunnel with all electrical facilities. It seems like we are sitting on a ticking bomb,” he said.
An official at the Public Works Department control room said they received over 110 calls regarding waterlogging on their helpline since Wednesday evening.
A convergence of thunderclouds on Wednesday evening led to rain in Delhi and the National Capital Region with initial extremely intense rainfall of over 50mm per hour. Weather officials said there was a drop in the rain intensity after 8:30 pm on Wednesday but it continued in most parts of Delhi until 2:30 am before clouds began to clear up.
On Thursday morning, police said water was drained out of stretches such as Chaudhary Fateh Singh Marg near Majnu Ka Tilla and Okhla underpass, which impacted traffic late on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening, warnings were issued to avoid stretches such as Anuvrat Marg, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, and the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Dilli, Outer Ring Road.
IMD said weather stations, including Safdarjung, which is representative of Delhi’s weather, received heavy rainfall (over 64.4mm in 24 hours) from 8:30 am on Wednesday until 5:30 am on Thursday. Safdarjung recorded 107.6mm of rainfall until 5:30 am, Palam 68.3mm, Delhi University 104.5mm, Najafgarh 112.5mm, and Mayur Vihar 147.5mm. Moderate rainfall was recorded at Narela (39.5mm) and Pitampura (45.5mm) during this period. No rainfall was recorded at any weather station between 2:30 am and 5:30 am.