The heavy downpour that battered the national capital on Saturday left roads inundated and drains flooded, throwing life off track in both residential and commercial areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday that this was the season's first heavy spell of rain and the situation is likely to persist for the next 24-36 hours. A "yellow" alert has been sounded for Sunday, the IMD said.
#WATCH | Delhi wakes up to rain lashing several parts of the city; visuals from Mayur Vihar Phase II area pic.twitter.com/WVXuHMyR0E
— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2023
The weather agency also attributed the heavy rain to the interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds. It added that besides Delhi, many regions of North India too experienced the season's first very heavy rain, the highest in a day in 20 years.
While the waterlogging disrupted traffic in the key Pragati Maidan underpass, the Minto Road Bridge too was inundated due to overflowing Delhi Jal Board drains. "We were on the spot. To avoid any untoward incident and to ensure the safety of commuters, it was closed to traffic for half an hour. However, there were very few traffic personnel on the ground. Our field staff and senior officials had to monitor the situation," PTI quoted a senior PWD official.
According to officials, the waterlogging at Pragathi Maidan tunnel was caused by the water released from the India Gate side towards Mathura Road. "The construction waste coupled with water released from the Pragati Maidan construction site. It also comprises mud which gets stuck in the pumps hampering its capacity. Recently one of the pumps stopped working and we had to replace it," the official said.
The Pragati Maidan tunnel connects India Gate with Ring Road here and is currently used by delegates during the G20 Summit. The tunnel is also equipped with seven underground sumps along with automatic pumps.
Fed up with the waterlogging, Delhi residents took to Twitter to highlight the city's poor drainage system. Images of waterlogged roads and long lines of vehicles stuck in the deluge too did rounds on social media.
"Delhi and the entire NCR turn into a pool of water with just one hour of rain. Very poor drainage management. Very risky to venture out in the rain. Apart from heavy waterlogging, there are so many potholes on roads to negotiate! (sic)," a Twitter user said.
The PWD control room received waterlogging complaints from areas including Jangpura, New Seelampur, Zakhira flyover, Jahangirpuri, Vikas Marg, ITO, etc.
Vehicles move through the waterlogged Vikas Marg following monsoon rains, near ITO in New Delhi | PTI
Highest since 2003
The Safdarjung Observatory, the city's primary weather station, recorded 126.1 mm of rainfall between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, the highest since the 24-hour rainfall of 133.4 mm on July 10, 2003, a senior IMD official said. The city logged an all-time high of 266.2 mm on July 21, 1958.
The weather stations at Ridge, Lodhi Road, Pitampura and Delhi University recorded 128 mm, 118.2 mm, 83 mm and 86 mm of precipitation, respectively. The maximum temperature settled at 28.7 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal.
According to the IMD, a Western Disturbance prevailed over northern India, while the monsoon trough extended to the south of its normal position, reaching lower tropospheric levels. Additionally, a cyclonic circulation was embedded over southwest Rajasthan.
This interaction between the western disturbance and monsoonal winds is expected to persist for the next 24-36 hours, leading to moderate rainfall in most parts of northwest India, according to an IMD update issued around 4 pm.
IMD forecast for Sunday
The IMD has forecast light to moderate intensity rain in many places of Delhi and NCR, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Assandh, Safidon, Panipat, Gohana, Gannaur, Meham, Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Kosali, Sohana, Rewari (Haryana).
Blame game on
The Delhi Congress said the AAP's promises to control waterlogging in the national capital had "fallen flat" .
Delhi Congress President Anil Chaudhary hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi. "The promises made by Delhi PWD Minister Atishi and MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi of making all the preparations to address waterlogging and traffic jams fall flat. Heavy rains brought the city to a total standstill."
Chaudhary claimed that the citizens are troubled due to the monsoon showers despite the AAP promising to address all civic problems prior to the MCD elections.
(With inputs from PTI)
