New Delhi: Fresh spells of rain drenched large parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Friday, triggering severe waterlogging, traffic gridlocks, and widespread disruption. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for the capital until 5 pm, while yellow and orange alerts were declared for different parts of the city. Neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad were placed under a red alert, with warnings of extremely heavy downpours.
The heavy rainfall brought relief from the sticky humidity earlier in the week but also caused chaos across several localities. Areas including West Vinod Nagar, AIIMS, Patparganj, Mayur Vihar, Sangam Vihar, Pragati Maidan, Defence Colony, and Preet Vihar were left flooded, disrupting daily routines. Major roads such as the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway, Mathura Road, Vikas Marg, ISBT, Geeta Colony, and Rajaram Kohli Marg were clogged with traffic for hours, while a long jam was reported between Badarpur and Ashram, stranding office-goers and school buses alike.
The Delhi Traffic Police said personnel had been deployed at crucial intersections to ease congestion. Despite efforts, long queues of vehicles were reported well into the afternoon. The downpour also triggered a wall collapse in East Delhi’s Mandawali, narrowly sparing the lives of three children. Officials said the wall of an abandoned house near Bada Chowk gave way around 12:58 pm when the children were returning home from school. The victims, identified as Pankaj (8), Dhruv (10), and Aadi (8), sustained minor injuries. “A call was received from Mandawali near Bada Chowk at 12.58 pm, in which a woman caller stated that a wall had collapsed, and some schoolchildren were trapped under it,” a senior police officer said. The caller, Manisha (35), a resident of Saket block, told officials that the collapse occurred during the heavy showers.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received an alert about the incident around 1 pm and dispatched five fire tenders. A DFS officer confirmed that “before our team could reach the spot, locals and a PCR unit pulled out three children from the debris, who have been rushed to a nearby hospital.”
Flight operations were also badly affected. According to flight-tracking portal Flightradar24, by 2 pm, nearly 209 departures and 43 arrivals were delayed at the Delhi airport. An advisory issued by airport authorities in the morning cited the IMD forecast, “As per the Indian Meteorological Department’s forecast, inclement weather conditions are expected in Delhi. However, flight operations at Delhi Airport are currently normal. For the latest flight information, passengers are advised to contact their respective airlines.”
Furthermore, Delhi Metro commuters faced additional hardship when services on the Yellow Line slowed down due to a technical snag during the morning rush. Though DMRC later confirmed that the issue had been resolved, the disruption compounded frustrations for passengers already grappling with overcrowded trains. The snag came just days after DMRC implemented a fare hike, increasing ticket prices between Rs 1 and Rs 4 depending on the travel distance.
According to the IMD, moderate rainfall is likely to continue over the next few hours in parts of Central, East, South, and New Delhi. Officials urged residents to avoid sheltering under trees or unstable structures, carry umbrellas or raincoats, and check traffic updates before venturing out.
While the showers added to commuter woes, officials said the rainfall also helped ease the city’s persistent humidity.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the Delhi government over waterlogging across the national capital following morning showers, alleging corruption in drain desilting, even as the BJP asserted that its government ensured prompt drainage despite a prolonged monsoon. The opposition Congress too attacked the ruling dispensation, alleging neglect and failure to address the city’s woes. AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video from Patparganj on X and alleged that the city government had now even stopped making “false claims” about giving relief to people.
“They think the rainy season will end and the trouble will be averted. Delhi residents fear this BJP government will push the city back in every sector,” he said.
He also questioned the chief minister over desilting and audit reports. “I have a question for the CM: Has there been corruption in desilting? Why are you running away from a third-party audit of the desilting work? If desilting has been done, sludge has been removed from the drains, contractors have been paid properly, then what is there to fear?” Bharadwaj said.
Responding to the allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the capital has witnessed a prolonged monsoon this year, yet life has not come to a halt for even a single day due to the alertness of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. He said all agencies ensured prompt water drainage by installing pumps and deploying staff and called AAP’s criticism “shameful”.
Sachdeva asked what action the AAP government took on Delhi’s Sewer Master Plan while it was in power for a decade.