Waterlogging had reportedly choked several stretches on the inner and outer Ring Roads, most of the arterial roads – even residential lanes were not spared – and the mouths of several major flyovers and underpasses in Delhi.
The Delhi Traffic Police Helpline (011-25844444) alone reported around 120 cases of waterlogging causing severe traffic snarls. Some of the worst affected areas include AIIMS, South Extension, Rohini <g data-gr-id="108">subcity</g>, Naraina, Palam, Dwarka <g data-gr-id="109">subcity</g>, areas around IGI Airport, Janakpuri, Lajpat Nagar, Defence Colony, Munirka, IIT-Delhi, areas around Red Fort and Delhi Gate, Punjabi Bagh, Nehru Place and Vikas Marg. “From the number of calls received from distressed commuters reporting long tailbacks and waterlogging, it has been the worst day of the week,” said a traffic police official.
He further said that by afternoon, long tailbacks were also reported at Yusuf Sarai, Kashmere Gate, Dhaula Kuan, near Anand Vihar ISBT, ITO junction, NH-8, around Connaught Place, Pusa Road, Najafgarh, Nangloi, Hari Nagar and Seelampur. Meanwhile, the <g data-gr-id="96">choc-o-bloc</g> situation at Palam, Dwarka, Rohini and Mahipalpur had not cleared by then.
“The otherwise 45-minute-drive from Defence Colony to Malviya Nagar, during the rush hours, took 30 minutes more because of rains this week. Saturday was exceptional, it took me more than two hours to negotiate several waterlogged zones at Defence Colony, South Extension and Malviya Nagar to reach office,” said Rajiv Paul, software engineer at a multinational company.
Severe waterlogging were reported from Dwarka <g data-gr-id="92">subcity</g>, Palam Flyover, Mathura Road, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Ramleela Maidan, Mahipalpur. <g data-gr-id="93">Jaitpur</g> and Mehrauli-Badarpur Road.
According to a source, waterlogging was also reported from Lajpat Nagar, Palam Village, Red Fort, Kalkaji, Mayapuri, Prahladpur, Khanpur, Sarita Vihar and several spots on Ring Road – which includes South Extension, Moolchand and Ashram Chowk – and Outer Ring Road areas like Kalkaji and Greater Kailash.
In most of these areas, waterlogging was reported consecutively for five days – from July 6 (Monday) to July 10 (Friday) – in which heavy rainfall and sporadic drizzle were witnessed. This exposes the lack of preparedness among authorities in dealing with the issue of waterlogging, despite the Corporations’ claims on have started de-silting work and finishing it before <g data-gr-id="105">monsoon</g>.
On Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, directed all the Districts Magistrates and Sub-divisional Magistrates to carry out field inspections and coordinate the ongoing operations to deal with the situation of waterlogging. He added that the nodal departments are so far using 256 mobile pumps to clear waterlogging at various locations.
Delhi government had launched <g data-gr-id="103">a round</g> the clock helpline (1800118595), on July 10 (Friday), to address complaints of waterlogging. “The helpline received as many as 225 calls till 4 pm on Saturday,” said Satyendra Jain, Public Works Department Minister. Later in the evening, the PWD helpline was bombarded with calls reporting traffic snarls and waterlogging.
The BJP-led Corporations, which have so far claimed to have done their best to tackle water-logging, have reportedly blamed the Delhi government saying that it had failed in its duty to de-silt the clogged drains in the city.
Earlier, Delhi Traffic Police had located as many as 168 waterlogging spots in the city and reported the matter to the civic agencies.
“The report was submitted long time back and now the agencies are to act upon it,” said Muktesh Chander, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
MET forecasts heavy rain in next 48 hours
The Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. The official forecaster has predicted incessant rain at isolated places over Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala, which will also lash the national capital. “As southwest monsoon has been vigorous over Gangetic West Bengal and active over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Coastal Karnataka during past 24 hours, there will be continuous rainfall in these areas,” an IMD official said.
Besides the <g data-gr-id="130">above mentioned</g> <g data-gr-id="131">states</g> rain/thundershowers occurred at most places over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Bihar, Sikkim and many places over Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Nagaland. The Chardham Yatra pilgrims have been stranded due to a landslide near the Uttarkashi-Gangotri <g data-gr-id="133">marg</g>.