Capital in chaos: Parts of Delhi remain waterlogged, six dead
New Delhi: The Capital was plunged into chaos on Wednesday evening as an extremely intense spell of rainfall battered the national capital, claiming six lives and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The downpour, which continued into Thursday, exposed the city’s vulnerability to extreme weather events and sparked a political blame game between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Opposition BJP.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that six weather stations in the city recorded over 100 mm of rainfall in a single day, categorising it as an “extremely intense spell.” The Safdarjung observatory, Delhi’s official weather station, recorded 107.6 mm of rain in the 24 hours leading up to 8:30 am on Thursday.
Among the victims were two children. In east Delhi’s Ghazipur, an incident saw 22-year-old Tanuja and her three-year-old son Priyansh drown after falling into a waterlogged drain near Khoda Colony. The woman’s body was recovered with her arms still wrapped around her child.
Three deaths were attributed to electrocution. In southwest Delhi’s Bindapur, 12-year-old Mudit Kumar was electrocuted while returning home from tuition. In Sangam Vihar, 18-year-old Anil Kumar Shah met a similar fate outside his house. The third electrocution victim was 28-year-old Prabhat, who died on the terrace of his home in Mithapur, southeast Delhi.
The sixth fatality occurred in north Delhi’s Sabji Mandi area, where 62-year-old Anil Kumar Gupta died in a building collapse. The incident has raised serious concerns about the structural integrity of buildings in the city, especially during extreme weather events.
The deluge overwhelmed Delhi’s emergency response systems, with the police receiving a staggering 2,945 calls related to traffic jams, 127 reports of waterlogging, 27 building collapse incidents, and 50 calls about uprooted trees by Thursday morning. The city’s infrastructure struggled to cope with the sudden influx of water, causing severe congestion on major roadways and leaving commuters stranded for hours.
Several areas remained waterlogged well into Thursday, with the Rajinder Nagar area becoming an epicentre of protest following the recent deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a flooded basement of a coaching centre. Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials worked through the night to pump out water, while students continued their demonstrations despite the adverse weather conditions.
The heavy rainfall also affected air quality, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded in the ‘satisfactory’ category at 63 as of 10 am on Thursday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
The disaster has sparked a political controversy, with the AAP and BJP trading accusations over responsibility for the city’s poor infrastructure. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh criticised Lieutenant Governor and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) chairperson V K Saxena over the Ghazipur drowning incident, demanding action against erring officials. The DDA defended itself, stating that a major portion of the drain where the tragedy occurred had been handed over to the MCD.
Meanwhile, the BJP accused the AAP-led Delhi government and the MCD of corruption, alleging a scam in the desilting of drains and demanding a CBI probe. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that this corruption was responsible for the recent deaths and other rain-related incidents in the city.
Delhi Urban Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj announced plans to write to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking Rs 5,200 crore in grants for the MCD to develop infrastructure like drains and roads.
The unprecedented rainfall has exposed the fragility of Delhi’s urban planning and infrastructure. Low-lying areas experienced significant flooding, disrupting daily activities and causing property damage. Residents expressed frustration over inadequate drainage systems that failed to mitigate the impact of the heavy rainfall.
Emergency services, including police, fire departments, and municipal workers, have been working around the clock to address the numerous incidents. However, the scale of the damage has made it challenging to respond to all calls promptly.
The Delhi Traffic Police issued advisories on social media, warning commuters about waterlogged areas and suggesting alternate routes. Major affected areas included ITO, Rajghat, Mother Dairy, Ganesh Nagar, and Patparganj Road.
