Rain leads to chaos on Delhi roads

NEW DELHI - Commuters had a harrowing time on Delhi roads Saturday as intermittent heavy rains led to water-logging, resulting in traffic snarls and breakdown of vehicles in many areas. The Met office forecast more showers Sunday.

Flooding in low-lying areas, traffic snarls and an incident of building collapse were reported from various parts of the city.

The traffic snarls in various parts of Delhi, especially in the evening, exposed the poor preparedness of civic authorities in handling flooding due to rains.

The traffic jam was particularly bad near Alipur crossing, Azad Market Chowk, Karnal bypass, Dhaula Kuan and Pusa Road.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 62 mm of rainfall from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Saturday.

The weatherman has predicted more showers in the next 24 hours.

Commuters who set off for from their offices in the evening had to battle disorder due to waterlogged roads, vehicle breakdowns and queues of cars, buses, two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws.

Most severely-hit areas included Gole Dak Khana, Wazirpur Bridge, Azadpur, Chhatrasal stadium, Rajpath, Kakrola Crossing, Bangla Sahib Gurudwara and Lajpat Nagar.

The maximum temperature Saturday touched 33.5 degrees Celsius, one notch below average, while the minimum hovered around 26 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season.

The humidity level oscillated between a high of 97 percent and a low of 67 percent, the weather officials said.

“The skies will remain cloudy Sunday with one or two spells of rain and thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperatures will hover around 35 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees, respectively,” an official said.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) control room received complaints of flooding in several residential areas.

“We received five complaints of water logging due to rain, and an old building collapsed on Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, central Delhi, leaving two people injured,” said an MCD official.