Rains spell chaos on roads, long tailbacks halt traffic

Severe traffic bottlenecks were reported from several areas after rain lashed the national Capital   on Friday. Most snarls were caused due to waterlogging, once again exposing the lack of preparedness by the authorities concerned in dealing with the pre-monsoon showers.

The stretch from GTB Hospital to Dilshad Garden was in a choc-a-block condition at as early as 8 am. Around the same time, congestions were also reported from Dwarka, Sarita Vihar, Vivek Vihar and Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. 

Long tailbacks were reported at the stretches from Mayur Vihar to Akshardham and Narayana Flyover to Dhaula Kuan around <g data-gr-id="33">9am</g>. Commuters heading from Moti Bagh towards the Indira Gandhi International Airport also had a harrowing experience.“It took me more than one-and-a-half hours to cross through NH-8 to reach my office. The car literally crawled at a snail’s pace throughout the 17-odd km stretch between Dhaula Kuan to the Gurgaon toll gate,” said Abhiroop Sen, a financial analyst at a Gurgaon-based company.

By the time the peak-hour traffic could be cleared, the Delhi Traffic Police helpline was bombarded calls reporting severe congestions at Mayapuri, Prahladpur, Mehrauli, Malviya Nagar, Delhi Gate and near the Red Fort. Long tailbacks were reported at stretches from BLK Hospital to Pusa Road, Britannia Chowk to Punjabi Bagh and near Batra Hospital on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, said a traffic official. He added the snarl from GTB Hospital to Dilshad Garden and the jam at Dwarka continued till late in the evening.

“Every year the authorities claim to have carried out proper de-silting of drains, then what is causing so much waterlogging?” wondered <g data-gr-id="29">Bidish</g> Goswami, an HR consultant at a South Delhi company. He added: “Last year during rains, it used to take me around 45 minutes to reach my office at Malviya Nagar from my South Extension residence. This year, it is taking me more time.”

According to the Traffic Police, waterlogging was reported around Malviya Nagar, Red Fort, several spots on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Vikas Marg, Shastri Park, Bhajanpura Chowk and Panchsheel Park.