Rain lashes Delhi, traffic hit

Heavy rain lashed parts of the national capital and adjoining Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad on Tuesday, leading to traffic snarls.

After a cloudy morning, the sky turned overcast in the afternoon followed by thundershowers which brought a welcome respite from the muggy weather.

Police said traffic snarls were reported at the ITO and Connaught Place in central Delhi, Shadipur Depot in west Delhi and Dhaula Kuan and Ashram in south Delhi.

Daily commuters had a difficult time on the roads.

"Every time the situation is the same. I don't know who is responsible but it is making it difficult for people to go about their day," said Akash Sharma, an IT professional who was stuck at south Delhi's Maharani Bagh for over 20 minutes.

"It took me over two hours to get home from ITO to Moti Bagh. The traffic was moving at snail's pace. It was frustrating after a point. I did not see any traffic official on the route to man vehicle movement," said Mohini Verma, a chartered accountant.

Commuters travelling to the national capital from Gurgaon and Noida were also stuck in traffic due to waterlogging in the adjoining suburbs.

"I was stuck in Gurgaon for over two hours and barely moved a few feet," said Nitin Kumar, on his way to Delhi from IFFCO Chowk in Haryana, said.

Another commuter Amit Chowdhry said, "I forgot to bring my boat to office in Gurgaon today otherwise I would had a smooth sailing back home. At least that was better than crawling in this bumper to bumper traffic."

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast showers would continue throughout the night.

"Some areas in the city are likely to get moderate rain throughout the night," the IMD official told IANS.

Monday's maximum temperature was 34.6 degrees Celsius, one notch above the season's average.

The minimum temperature was 27.9 degrees Celsius, also a notch above the season's average.