Rain catches Delhiites off guard

New Delhi: Many parts of the national Capital were inundated following a spell of heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening, causing massive traffic snarls in several areas.

The National Flash Flood Guidance Bulletin also included Delhi in its list of ‘areas of concern’, the weather office said.

According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Automatic Weather Station (AWS) network, the Pragati Maidan observatory in central Delhi recorded 112.5 mm of rainfall in one hour.

An extreme amount of precipitation in a short period, specifically 100 mm of rainfall within an hour, is defined by the IMD as a “cloud burst”.

There has, however, been no official statement on the situation from weather officials.

It has also issued a ‘red’ warning, which calls for action and vigilance.

“Seeking safe shelter and avoiding tree cover are recommended to mitigate risks. Stay tuned for further updates as the situation develops,” it said in the advisory.

Multiple areas, including Lutyen’s Delhi, Kashmere Gate, Rajinder Nagar and ITO among others, were inundated following the heavy rain.

Visuals from south Delhi’s Qutub Minar area showed vehicles wading through waterlogged roads while traffic police personnel tried to manage vehicular movement.

The situation has caused a major disruption in vehicular movement. Visuals from various parts of the city show several areas inundated with water, leading to long traffic jams which affected commuters.

“It’s the same story every year. After heavy rains the drains clog up and the streets turn into a river. I have given up all hope from the authorities,” said Kartikeya Singh, a resident of Bhajanpura.

The traffic police have issued alerts about the routes affected and urged people to plan their journeys accordingly.

Meanwhile, at least 10 flights that were to land at the Delhi airport were diverted on Wednesday evening due to heavy rains.

An official said that at least 10 flights were diverted at the airport after 1930 hours due to bad weather.

On social media platform X, airlines said that flights might get affected due to the bad weather.

Vistara said flight UK998 from Pune to Delhi has been diverted to Lucknow due to bad weather at the Delhi airport.

Flights to and from Delhi may get affected due to bad weather this evening. “Guests are advised to start early for the airport, as slow traffic and waterlogging may delay movement”, Air India said.

SpiceJet said that due to “bad weather (heavy rain) in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected”.

“We have a special announcement straight from the heavenly skies! The rain gods have decided to shower #Delhi with their blessings tonight. As a result, we’re expecting heavy rainfall throughout the

night,” IndiGo said in a post on X and asked passengers to check the status of their flights.

The heavy downpour also led to a house collapse in north Delhi’s Sabji Mandi area. While details of it were still awaited, the Delhi Fire Services said the house was located close to the Ghanta Ghar near Robin Cinema.

Five fire tenders are at the spot, the department added.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said he has asked officers to remain on alert.

“Apart from ensuring minimum inconvenience to people in general, they are advised to specifically address issues at sites prone to waterlogging, including coaching centres,” he said in the post on ‘X’.

As Delhi witnessed widespread waterlogging, the traffic police issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid certain roads.

Taking to the social media platform ‘X’, the police said traffic movement was hit in the carriageway from Moolchand towards Chirag Delhi and in both the carriageways on Anuvrat Marg due to heavy waterlogging.

Vehicular movement was also affected on the Outer Ring Road in the carriageway from Chirag Delhi towards Nehru Place due to waterlogging under the Savitri flyover, it said in a post.

According to an advisory, due to waterlogging at the Chatta Rail Chowk, traffic movement has been hit on Syama Prasad Mukherjee Marg.

Traffic was being diverted from the Chatta Rail red light and Lothian Road. Commuters coming from NS Marg towards ISBT Kashmiri Gate can take Kodia Pul, Mori Gate Boulevard Road, the traffic police said.

It also said that vehicular movement was affected on Mahatma Gandhi Marg due to waterlogging at Nigam Bodh Ghat. Traffic was being diverted from Chandgi Ram Akhara.

Police also mentioned alternative routes and diversions imposed for commuters to consider given the waterlogging and traffic snarls.

Visuals showed waterlogged streets at Connaught Place and in the Kamla Nagar area near Delhi University’s North Campus.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar, where three students died due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre last week, was flooded again.

Several videos surfaced of the flood-like situation in the stretch that is lined with many coaching centres.

“We had come out from our home for dinner and it suddenly started raining and within minutes the whole area got flooded with water,” a resident of the area said.

“Even after five days (of the death of the UPSC aspirants), the administration and MCD is applying its complete force to suppress the protest and has done nothing for cleaning the drains,” he said.