‘Feeling of helplessness’: For Delhiites, rain brings more trouble than relief

New Delhi: Every year the rain arrives, and every year it slows down to a crawl — with drenched streets, jammed roads, overflowing drains on view, and frustrated citizens at its receiving end. These experiences are no longer a surprise. For those who live here, it’s routine.

To understand how the city’s residents experience the monsoon, the Millennium Post spoke to Delhiites — some born here, while others who moved for study or work. Their responses revealed not just inconvenience, but a deeper frustration with a city that continues to remain unprepared for something as predictable as seasonal rain. Pawan’s joy-to-misery tale Growing up in Delhi, Pawan has witnessed the monsoon evolve from a moment of childhood joy to an annual source of civic frustration. As a school student, the rain was something to look forward to.

“When it rained during school hours, the playground would flood. We’d end up playing football or even rugby in the water. It was pure fun back then,” he said. But the charm of childhood faded quickly as he entered college. During his graduation at DU’s Sri Venkateswara College, he often faced the grim realities of poor infrastructure. Especially in Satya Niketan, a busy student neighbourhood right across from the college. “The situation there was terrible. Open drains, sewage water spilling onto the streets — it would become unbearable during the rains. Sometimes it was hard to even walk out of college,” he said.

Years later, not much has changed. “The same problems still exist — waterlogging, overflowing drains, the same chaos. The only thing that’s changed is that we’ve grown up.” Too much water for Anjum Jishan Anjum first came to Delhi in 2021 to study, stayed on to work for a while, and is now pursuing a degree at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Over the years, he has seen many sides of the city—but the monsoon remains the most troubling.

“I live on campus now, so things are manageable inside. But the moment you step out, you feel how unprepared the city is,” he said. He recalls one day when heavy rain caught him off guard—no phone battery, no cash and no transport in sight. “I ended up stuck at a bus stop for four hours. It wasn’t just getting wet. It was the feeling of helplessness,” he said. Jishan points out that the real problem lies in the city’s basic design. “The roads and flyovers near Yamuna block the water instead of letting it drain. This isn’t a one-time issue — it happens every year,” he said.

West Sagarpur’s woes

Having grown up in West Sagarpur, Tanay Patwal has seen monsoon problems unfold every year in his own neighborhood. While most complain about inconvenience, Tanay highlights the health hazards. “We’ve had electrocution cases nearby. When wires are exposed and mix with rainwater or sewage, it’s deadly,” he said. Stagnant water, he said, brings mosquitoes and diseases like dengue, malaria and typhoid.