The sudden downpour and hailstorm on Thursday evening reminded Delhiites of the lurking problem of water-logging which sent traffic for a toss during the evening rush.
All arterial roads of the city, mostly in Central and South Delhi, remained congested till late in the evening, affecting thousands of commuters headed home during the evening peak hours. Areas like ITO, Vikas Marg, Connaught Place, Mandi House, AIIMS, Defence Colony, South Extension, lajpat Nagar and Nehru Place were the worst affected.
Traffic jams were also reported from AIIMS, INA Market, IP Flyover, Maharani Bagh, most of Ring Road, Saket, and other south Delhi areas during the evening hours.
The Ashram- South Extension stretch which includes Ashram and lajpat Nagar saw the worst of the Ring Road congestion.
Panjak Kumar Singh, a marketing executive, said that he was stuck trying to exit Nehru Place for almost an hour.
Traffic also came to a crawl in areas like Pragati Maidan, Nizamuddin and Sarai Kale Khan as similar scenes were seen near Savitri Cinema on the Outer Ring Road.
"The rain was unexpected. It took me nearly an hour to reach lajpat Nagar from lodhi Road, which a 20-minute drive normally. The traffic was not moving at some places," said Debraj Chaudhary, a motorist.