The heavy downpour unleashed chaos on Delhi roads on Saturday. The season’s heaviest rain that lasted for just couple of hours brought the traffic to a grinding halt as city roads remained inundated for several hours.
As blocked drains could not consume rainwater, all arterial roads were flooded, leading to massive traffic snarls for hours on Ring Road, Mathura Road, Rani Jhansi Road, Vikas Marg, Outer Ring Road, Kashmere Gate, Aurobindo Marg, Dhaula Kuan.
Rain affected Metro services as well. Two Metro stations — Saket and Malvya Nagar — were closed for nearly five hours as rainwater entered their concourse. Services were affected on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur corridor, where Metro trains ran late by 25 to 30 minutes.
The swanky Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport was not left untouched. The forecourt of the arrival area of the T3 terminal at the IGI Airport was flooded.
The Met office said the city received a total of 123 mm of rain between 11.30 am and 5.30 pm. Rain pulled down mercury, with maximum temperature settling at 31.1 degree Celsius which was three degree below normal.
Adding to the woes of people were reports of roads caving in, and walls and electricity poles tumbling down. Traffic snarls and water-logging left commuters reacting about civic bodies’ lack of preparedness.
“Just a bout of rain is enough and the authorities start covering their faces. Crores of rupees are spent on desilting of drains, yet roads are waterlogged. Then agencies like the PWD, MCD and CPWD start passing the blame to one another,” said Manish Ahuja, a commuter who was stuck in the waterlogged Ring Road.
Scores of passengers missed their trains as roads leading to the railway stations at New Delhi, Old Delhi, Anand Vihar and Hazrat Nizamuddin were inundated and traffic moved at a snail’s pace. The Minto Bridge near New Delhi station resembled a water pool.
“I took a taxi from Vasant Kunj for New Delhi Railway Station. Even as I managed to reach Connaught Place despite massive jams, the taxi broke down under Minto Bridge. It was impossible to wade through waist-deep water with all belongings,” said Prashant Jain, a passenger, who was heading for New Delhi Railway Station to catch a train.