New Delhi: Delhi and the adjoining NCR cities woke up to heavy showers on Thursday, offering brief respite from the heat but unleashing chaos on the roads. Large parts of the city, including Lajpat Nagar, RK Puram, Lodhi Road, Subroto Park, and stretches of Outer Ring Road, were submerged in knee-deep water, leading to long traffic snarls.
The downpour turned tragic in South Delhi’s Kalkaji, where a 50-year-old man, Sudhir Kumar, died after an old neem tree uprooted and fell on his motorcycle. He was riding with his 22-year-old daughter, Priya, who suffered a fracture in her right pelvic region and is recovering at AIIMS Trauma Centre. The mishap occurred around 9:50 am at Paras Chowk and was reported to the Kalkaji Police Station via a PCR call. Police, along with senior officers including the ACP Kalkaji and local Traffic Inspector, reached the spot within minutes. A JCB was deployed on priority to lift the heavy tree, which also damaged a parked Hyundai i10. Both victims were extricated through a coordinated rescue effort and rushed to hospital, but Sudhir Kumar succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Preliminary observations suggest the tree was old and weakened over time, though the exact cause is under review.
Several areas in Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad reported similar scenes of waterlogging and traffic gridlock. The IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert for the capital, warning of more moderate to heavy rain until August 17, with possible thunderstorms.
Adding to the concerns, the Yamuna’s water level reached 204.43 metres at the Old Railway Bridge, just shy of the 204.5-metre warning mark. Flood control officials attribute the rise to continuous water releases from Wazirabad and Hathnikund barrages. “We are monitoring the situation closely, but with 31,000 cusecs released every hour upstream, the risk of flooding cannot be ignored,” a senior official said.
For riverside residents, the fear is palpable. “Last year we lost everything when the Yamuna flooded. No one came to check on us then, and I doubt they will now,” said Ruksana, a resident near the banks.
Commuters expressed frustration over the city’s chronic waterlogging. “It took me two hours to get from Govindpuri to Greater Kailash. Six months into the new government, nothing has changed, except maybe the excuses,” said a resident stuck on Ring Road. Others criticised the garbage management drives, claiming many neighbourhoods
remain neglected.
Experts have also weighed in, calling the situation a result of poor planning and inadequate drainage maintenance. “Waterlogging in Delhi is not just about heavy rain, it’s about years of neglect in stormwater drain design, encroachments, and lack of desilting. The current government had months to prepare or at least to start with before monsoon but clearly did not act decisively,” said Civic expert Dr. Meera Chhabra.
Opposition leaders accused the BJP-led city government of ignoring court orders on drain cleaning.
AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj said the capital’s “waterlogging management is drowning” and called for an independent audit of desilting work. With more rain forecast and the Yamuna swelling, the coming days could test the city’s flood management systems, and the patience of its residents, even further.