Senior Delhi Police and traffic officials were left red-faced after visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and his convoy got stuck in a massive traffic snarl near Satya Marg here on Monday evening due to waterlogging caused by heavy rains while on his way to the hotel from the IGI Airport.
The convoy of Kerry, who arrived here to participate in the 2nd Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, was heading to the hotel in Chanakyapuri in south Delhi when it was stuck in the traffic jam near Satya Marg, an official said.
However, Senior Delhi Police and traffic officials declined to share details of the incident claiming it was a “security matter”.
Mediapersons, accompanying Kerry's convoy, posted on social media pictures of vehicles stuck in the jam.
Officials sought to downplay the incident saying the convoy was not stuck but had only slowed down due to heavy traffic and rainfall.
Heavy showers lashed the national Capital on Monday afternoon leading to massive traffic jams on several roads and intersections across the city during evening peak hours due to waterlogging. Commuters had a hard time as vehicular traffic crawled on roads clogged with long tailbacks after the city received 15.2 mm rainfall in the second half of the day.
Heavy traffic was reported in almost all the major intersections, including laxmi Nagar, Patel Nagar, Mehrauli-Badarpur road, Mukarba Chowk, Netaji Subhash Marg, Naraina flyover, Kashmere Gate, Dwarka, Dhaula Kuan, Sarai Kale Khan, Moolchand, Mandi House, Karkarduma, Rajghat and Kalindi Kunj.
The problem was further aggravated due to a large number of vehicles, it being the first working day of the week. Heavy traffic was reported on almost all major carriageways due to waterlogging.
The sorry state of affairs can be gauged by the series of tweets posted by Delhi Traffic Police to update commuters about the affected areas.
“Traffic is heavy in the carriageway from Indraprastha towards Sarai Kale Khan due to water logging near Inderprasth flyover… Traffic is heavy near Ramlila Ground due to water logging at Gurunanak Chowk…
Traffic is heavy on Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road due due to water logging… Traffic is heavy on Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg due due to water logging under Minto Bridge," tweeted Delhi Traffic Police one after another. Reports suggested that almost 200 stretches across the Capital had witnessed severe traffic jams due to the downpour that lasted for several hours
"We received over 150 calls about waterlogging and heavy traffic in different parts of the city. There were over 50 waterlogging points that hampered traffic movement," said Sandeep Goel, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
The affected stretches include M B Road, lakshman Public School to RTR flyway, Dhaula Kuan, Jahangirpuri Bus Depot, Chhata Rail, GTO and Azad Market Chowk. Waterlogging also hampered traffic flow at Greater Kailash-2, Savitri Cinema, C R Park and Hanuman Setu.
Severe water-logging was also reported on stretches at Mathura Road, Vayusenabad, Wazirabad Road and at Tigri on Mehrauli Badrpur Road.
Commuters were barely able to move as M G road, Mayapuri, Nigam Bodh Ghat, Kela Ghat, Durga Puri Chowk,and Mandoli T-Point were jam-packed due to waterlogging.
Heavy traffic and bottlenecks were also witnessed on road stretches from Outer Ring Road to Subroto Park, lajpat Nagar to Jangpura, AIIMS and Moti Bagh.
late in the evening, waterlogging reports also came from Ramlila Ground, Gurunanak Chowk, Sarai Kale Khan, Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg, Minto Bridge, Bhairon Marg and Indraprastha.
Other parts of the city which witnessed a chock-a-block situation include Nangloi, Mundka, Anand Parbath and Shanti Path. Both carriageways on Shankar Road, DCM Chowk and Hyatt Hotel towards Moti Bagh also faced heavy traffic.
Similar situation was also reported in nearby Gurgaon which came to stand still again after rains lashed the city for around two hours. Following water-logging in several parts of the city similar to what happened on July 28, many places including Hero Honda Chowk, Sohna Road, Manesar, Udyog Vihar, old Gurgaon Road and a few areas in New Gurgaon experienced heavy traffic snarls on Monday.
People returning home from Delhi to Gurgaon reported that traffic was not moving an inch. Even patrolling cars of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) were stuck in the traffic.
Tarun Sharma, a commuter, said, "I had come to drop my sister at Rajendra Place metro station, but I got stuck in traffic jam at Pusa Road stretch for over one hour. Despite leaving home an hour early, I still got late for an appointment due to the traffic jam."
Priya Sharma, another commuter who was travelling from Central Delhi to Green Park, said, "No matter which route I took, there was long tailback everywhere. I encountered heavy traffic at Jhandewalan, Pusa Road, Rajendra Place, Karol Bagh... The entire stretch towards Rajouri Garden was completely choked. It took me more than twice the usual time to reach my destination."
Apart from that, heavy traffic was also reported at Vikas Marg, Barakhamba Road, Sikandra Road, Tilak Marg, Ashoka Road, near AIIMS flyover, Defense Colony Flyover, Ashram, and Dhaula Kuan.