Rain surprises Delhi

Heavy rain lashed the national capital Friday morning, disrupting normal life and causing huge traffic snarls, besides dampening the festive spirit.

The national capital recorded 64.8 mm of rain till 5.30 p.m. Friday, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

"The rain started around 7 a.m. Till 8.30 a.m. we recorded 26.2 mm rain and another 38.6 mm of rain has been recorded till 5.30 p.m.," the official said.

Rain also brought a significant dip in temperature. While the minimum temperature early Friday was recorded at 19.9 degrees Celsius, a notch below average, the maximum temperature went eight notches below normal, to 26.1 degrees Celsius.

The maximum temperature in the national capital Thursday was 35.1 degrees Celsius -- one notch above average.

Cloudy skies and possibility of thunderstorm is the IMD forecast for Saturday. Maximum and minimum temperatures Saturday are expected to be around 32 and 23 degrees Celsius.

Morning rain Friday gave office-goers a tough time, and pandals erected for Durga Puja and Ramlila were drenched.

"There was waterlogging in the pandal, but the main area around the idol is fine as the pandal is waterproof," said an organiser of the Durgotsab in Greater Kailash.

"There were some hiccups because of the rain, but the puja is going on smoothly," said Viplab Majumbar of Chittaranjan Park Kali Mandir Society.

"The rain is just a minor thing. This is a major festival for which we have been preparing for long," he said.

Some Ramlila organisers also said the rains posed only a minor irritant.

"We have already hired ten water pumps to drain the water out in case of rain in the next three days. Tarpaulin sheets have been ordered, so we can stretch them on the ground to avoid the rain making the soil loose," said Praveen Singhal, organiser of Luv-Kush Ramlila Committee, one of the oldest committees in Delhi that has been organising Ramlila at the Red Fort.

Traffic jams were the order of Friday morning. "I left home at 8 a.m. and was stuck in traffic for last two hours," said Shweta, who commutes to office in Jasola from her home in the Mandi House area. The journey normally takes about 45 minutes.

"It's a nightmare, traffic is not moving. Even friends who had to take the Metro said reaching the station was very difficult," said Rashid, a resident of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Delhi.

Asked about the traffic situation, an officer of the Delhi traffic police said: "There are jams everywhere."