Festival rush, heavy downpour brings Delhi traffic to its knees

Heavy rains lashed parts of Delhi-NCR on Monday afternoon, bringing much needed respite to residents from the muggy weather.

However, heavy traffic for the Raksha Bandhan festival, some bus breakdowns and water-logging due to heavy showers brought some stretches of the capital to a near standstill.

Many people were seen running for temporary shelter from the heavy rains on Monday afternoon.

The temperature remained above 30 degree Celsius.

However, if the rains persist, the temperature is expected to stay lower for the week. The sky was mostly cloudy and 82 per cent humidity was recorded at 3 pm.

Earlier, the Meteorological Department had said that it will rain on Monday. According to the department, heavy rains are likely to continue till Tuesday.

Thereafter, there is a chance of medium showers throughout the week. The maximum temperature will stay within 30-35 degree Celsius.

The MeT department predicted that there will not be much change in humidity and added that this year Delhi is witnessing a 'good monsoon'. Proper showers are likely to continue till the end of September.

Apart from Delhi, there have been reports of showers from various neighbouring parts.

Meanwhile, the heavy rains took a toll on the movement of vehicles, as jams were seen in various parts throughout the day

Delhi Traffic Police advised motorists to avoid certain stretches, on account of heavy rush for Raksha Bandhan festival.

"Traffic is heavy at Shastri Park, Seelampur, Maujpur Chowk, NH-24 and Kondli due to festive season. Kindly avoid this stretch," posted the Delhi Traffic Police on its Twitter account.

Vehicles were seen crawling on major arterial roads and intersections, such as Dhaula Kuan and ITO, a Delhi Traffic Police official said.

"The situation on major stretches was chaotic but after the rains, our personnel had a hard time manging traffic.

"Extra personnel were deployed but owing to water-logging and encroachments on major roads commuters faced problems," said an officer of the Traffic Police.

Meanwhile, a dead camel near Delhi Secretariat caused obstruction of traffic along the ITO-Laxmi Nagar corridor, the Delhi Traffic Police said through

Twitter.

Moreover, three Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, at Dhaula Kuan, Roshnara Road and Delhi Gate, suffered mechanical failures, causing tailbacks.

Traffic was heavy at National Highway-24 towards Sarai Kale Khan (both carriageway) due to heavy water-logging. Cops also appealed to motorists to avoid the stretch.

Breakdown of DTC in various parts of the city was one of the main reasons for lasting traffic jams.

Many motorists were also seen taking shelter under flyovers and underpasses, as the rains made it nearly impossible to travel for about an hour and a half in the afternoon.

Even the Noida-Delhi linking DND flyway saw heavy traffic. Congestion was also seen at Maharani Bagh and Ashram in South East Delhi.