No let-up in rains in Delhi, IMD issues 'yellow' alert for Sat

New Delhi: The Capital reeled under traffic snarls and waterlogging woes with several key road stretches dotted with puddles of water as incessant rains lashed the city for a second consecutive day on Friday, bringing down the maximum temperature to 27.6 degrees Celsius — seven notches below normal.

The weather department has issued a yellow alert for Saturday as well, cautioning people about moderate rain at most places in Delhi while heavy rains are expected at a couple of locations.

The heavy rains disrupted the traffic movement with drivers having to negotiate waterlogged roads and stretches obstructed by fallen trees.

The Delhi Traffic Police issued an alert, asking commuters to plan their journey keeping the rainfall in mind

"Waterlogging has been observed near Hanuman Setu on Shanti van to Hanuman Mandir Carriageway, Libaspur underpass, Maharani Bagh Taimur Nagar cut, CDR Chowk, Mehrauli towards Gurugram, Andheria More towards Vasant Kunj, under Nizamuddin bridge, Singhu Border near petrol pump, MB Road towards Sainik Farm carriageway," it tweeted, advising the commuters to avoid these stretches.

The traffic police said they received 19 calls regarding traffic congestion, while 11 about waterlogging and 22 of tree falling.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi received 12 waterlogging complaints and 16 of uprooted trees.

According to officials, the calls regarding traffic snarls were received from Sonia Vihar Pushta Road, below Bijwasan flyover, Uttam Nagar signal, near Vasant Kunj Church and Vasant Kunj Fortis hospital, Rajdhani Park to Nangloi, Pitampura, Model Town extension etc.

Some commuters also took to the microblogging site to share the traffic conditions on the ground.

One of the commuters said the traffic was heavy in Nangloi. Another user requested the police to control the heavy traffic between Batla House and Okhla.

Reports of traffic jams in the Mahipalpur area and Preet Vihar in east Delhi were also received by the police.

In a related development, a portion of a parapet above the first floor of a building in MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital collapsed on Friday, a senior civic official said.

However, no one was injured in the incident, the official said.

A car was damaged after a portion of the debris fell on it. It was not immediately known the exact cause of the collapse.

Delhi recorded more than half of the average rainfall in September in just 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Friday, swinging from being rain deficient to rain surplus this month.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded 58.5 mm of precipitation against a normal of 108.5 mm between September 1 and September 22 (Thursday morning).

It received 72 mm of rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Friday, making it the first spell of heavy rain this month. From September 1 to September 23, the city received 130.5 mm of rain. Normally, Delhi records 125.5 mm of rainfall in September.

The IMD has attributed the spell of rain to the interaction of a western disturbance and a low-pressure system.

The capital has recorded only two spells of heavy rain this monsoon season, the first being on July 1 when the city gauged 117.2 mm rainfall.

The rains in the last two days have also brought down the overall deficit in the monsoon season from 35 per cent (till September 22) to 23 per cent by Friday morning.

More rains are expected before the monsoon retreats from the National Capital Region by the end of September which may further reduce the deficit.

In Gurugram, intermittent rainfall led to waterlogging at multiple stretches, submerging vehicles and causing traffic jams.

More than 50 areas were affected due to waterlogging.

After heavy rain on Friday morning, Rajiv Chowk and Subhash Chowk also flooded here due to which commuters faced a lot of problems.

Along with this, the pedestrian crossing path also got waterlogged.

The teams of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) along with cops were seen making efforts to drain the water.

DCP, traffic Virender Singh Sangwan said the situation on roads across the city was better today in comparison to Thursday.

"Our cops are deployed at all key points and are not only managing traffic but also helping to remove the water from the roads," he added.

Meanwhile, the Gautam Buddh Nagar district administration announced on Friday that classes up till 8 will remain suspended in all government and private schools in Noida and Greater Noida due to rains.

The district administration had earlier declared a closure of schools for Friday in view of the continuous rains.

The weather department has forecast heavy rainfall in the National Capital Region, including Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday.

Gautam Buddh Nagar saw continuous rainfall since Thursday as drizzles continued on Friday evening, leading to waterlogging in certain parts of Noida and Greater Noida.

Congestion on roads due to the rains was also reported from parts of the district, especially during the peak traffic hours in the morning and in the evening, even as police said the situation is largely under control in the twin towns adjoining Delhi.

In a 24-hour period ending on Friday morning, the district recorded 15 mm of rainfall -- a 689-per cent departure from normal for this time of the year, according to the weather department.