Heavy rain triggers water-logging in Delhi, more showers expected

An intense spell of rain hit some parts of the national Capital on Wednesday, triggering waterlogging and traffic snarls in several areas. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert, forecasting that there could be moderate rain on Thursday. Isolated places could receive heavy to very heavy rain while light rain is expected to hit Delhi almost every day over the next one week, the Met department has said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the IMD’s Safdarjung observatory, which is taken to be a representative of Delhi’s weather, received around 21.4 mm rain. No rain was recorded at the Palam observatory, however.

The rain helped to bring much needed respite from the sultry heat. While the day’s maximum temperature was 37.8 degrees Celsius, it dropped by around 10 degrees after the rain.

According to the Public Works Department (PWD) control room, places where waterlogging occurred include Qutub Road, Peepal Chowk on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, underneath Lajpat Nagar flyover, Nehru Nagar, Dhaula Kuan, Munirka, South Extension, Rani Khera, Punjabi Bagh and Mangolpuri.

“Only a few complaints regarding waterlogging were received. Immediately after getting the complaint, executive engineers of the area were alerted and waterlogged streets were cleared within half-an-hour after receiving the complaints,” a PWD official said.

Trees were also uprooted at as many as five places due to rain and heavy winds. Places where trees fell down include Shamnath Marg in Civil Lines, Seikh Sarai, PTS colony in Malviya Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar and Deshbandhu College in Kalkaji.

Senior Delhi traffic police officials said waterlogging on arterial roads slowed down traffic movement around the city. Areas around Munirka, ITO, Paharganj, Satya Niketan (near Sri Venkateswara College), U-turn near Delhi Cantonment Metro station, Palam flyover, South Extension (near the flyover), Sri Aurobindo Marg (below the AIIMS flyover), near Pul Prahlad Pur and Najafgarh-Firni road towards Mundka saw vehicular movement slow down to a crawl.

Officials said extra deployment was made at important junctions to manage the rush of vehicles.

Meanwhile, keeping in view the forecast of heavy rain for the next two days, North Delhi Municipal Corporation standing committee chairman Jai Prakash directed all concerned officials to ensure operation of portable pumps in cases of emergency and clear bell mouths so that water is cleared from road.