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Delhi

Heavy rain throws life out of gear in Capital

new delhi: Delhi on Wednesday woke up to waterlogged streets, roads choked with traffic, homes collapsing in certain areas and vehicles being destroyed due to walls collapsing after a fresh spell of heavy rains hit the Capital starting from early in the day.

The Delhi Fire Services said that they received five calls of house collapse but no one was injured. The boundary wall of a school located in Delhi's Saket also collapsed with police saying, "It was found that a portion of a wall had collapsed and 7 vehicles parked near the wall had got damaged. The wall had allegedly collapsed due to continuous rains. Action under section 427 IPC has been taken at Saket police station upon the complaint of the residents."

"We had received a call from Nangloi about house collapse but no one was injured," DFS Director Atul Garg said, adding they received four other similar calls. Many Delhi residents also took to social media to share images of the Delhi rains and its aftereffects.

As per Delhi Police, waterlogging has been reported at Pul Prahlad Pur Underpass, Moti Bagh, Palam, Chhatta Rail, Batra Hospital, Minto Bridge, BRT Corridor Sangam Vihar, Badarpur Border, Bhairon Road, slip road of Ashram Chowk, Purana Qila Road, Chandani Ram Akhara, Okhla Mandi, PS Timarpur Road, Khaiber Pass and Guru Nanak Chowk.

"However, traffic was not stopped. Only at Prahladpur traffic was diverted," an official said. The Delhi Traffic Police alerted commuters to avoid specific stretches of roads where traffic congestion was seen.

As DTC buses and cluster buses broke down on key roads such as the stretch from Gyarah Murti to Dhaula Kuan near Taj Hotel, authorities diverted traffic citing waterlogging and jammed streets.

In another tweet, Delhi Traffic Police asked commuters to avoid the stretch from Liberty Cinema towards Punjabi Bagh due to potholes in the road. "Traffic is heavy from Vasant Kunj towards Airport (both carriageways) due to waterlogging. Motorists are requested to take Mahipalpur Chowk as an alternative route," the Delhi Traffic Police said in another tweet.

The traffic snarls also resulted in delays for commuters looking to book cabs online. "I had to take my 2-month-old son for vaccination and was stuck in traffic. It doesn't look like we are living in the national Capital. The streets of colonies are completely submerged in water because of choked drains and sewer lines," said a journalist at a leading daily.

6% excess rain this season; deficiency down to 11%

August's rain deficiency in Delhi further reduced to 11 per cent with a fresh spell of heavy rain that inundated several areas in the Capital, brought destruction in various parts of the city and choked main roads and arterial streets here once again with major traffic snarls.

The Indian Meteorological Department on Wednesday said that Delhi has recorded 147.4 mm rainfall this month and the city had recorded a six per cent increase in rainfall this monsoon, which started from June 1. This year, Delhi has seen 466 mm rainfall compared to the normal of 441.3 mm.

IMD chief Kuldeep Srivastava said Delhi recorded moderate rains till 11:30 am on Wednesday. More rains would be very likely as the day progressed. The Ayanagar weather station recorded 63.1 mm rainfall between 2:30 am and 11:30 am.

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded 29.8 mm rains. The Palam, Lodhi Road, and Ridge weather stations gauged 45 mm, 25.8 mm and 42.5 mm precipitation respectively during the period. Rainfall recorded below 15 mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate and above 64.5 mm is heavy.

The downpour may lead to "major traffic disruption" and there is an "increased chance" of road accidents, the IMD had warned. Srivastava said the axis of monsoon will remain close to the Capital till Thursday. Therefore, more rains are likely.

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