Heavy rain causes waterlogging, traffic snarls in Delhi

Heavy rain on Wednesday morning caused waterlogging and traffic snarls in many areas of the national capital.

Officials told IANS the situation improved by the afternoon.

"Traffic issues were solved by evening but areas like Azadpur and other places saw traffic congestion due to the peak hours," an official of the traffic department said.

Officials said they received over 100 calls regarding traffic snarls and waterlogging in the morning.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in the national capital, cancelled his visit to the holy places on Wednesday. His visit to IIT-Delhi was also delayed due to torrential rains. At IIT-D, Kerry started his lecture with a light-hearted comment: "I don't know if you came in boats or amphibious vehicle of some kind."

The rain, however, made the weather pleasant. The maximum temperature on Wednesday was 30.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average. The minimum temperature settled at 26 degrees Celsius.

However, commuters had a tough time in the morning rush hours, reaching their destinations.

Bhanu Srivastava, an engineer, told IANS that most of the roads leading to Noida from Delhi were flooded and there was a gridlock of vehicles on the roads.

"As lovely as the pouring rain looks from the office or house window, one can only imagine the plight of people on the road," Nandia Kodesia tweeted.

"Morning bliss with Delhi rains but will have to deal with traffic jam later," Arpit Gupta tweeted.

Traffic snarls were also witnessed on roads leading to Gurgaon and the airport.

Places affected by massive traffic congestion included Moti Bagh, Wazirabad, Pragati Maidan, Azad Market, the stretch between IIT-Delhi and Munirka, Chirag Dilli, Punjabi Bagh, Karol Bagh, Dwarka, Shastri Park, Seelampur, Ghazipur, Najafgarh, Nangloi-Mundka road, Dhaula Kuan flyover, Greater Kailash II market, Zakir Hussain Marg, Barapulla flyover towards DND, Ashram Chowk, Ring Road at Maharani Bagh, Lajpat Nagar and Sarai Kale Khan.

The Met Office said Safdarjung recorded the maximum rainfall of 63.1 mm followed by 58.4 mm at Lodhi Road, 55.6 mm at Palam area, 48.6 mm at Ridge area and 34.8 mm at Aya Nagar between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.

"Moderate rainfall is expected on Thursday as well," an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

The maximum temperature on Thursday is expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 25 degrees Celsius.

--IANS

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