G20 Summit New Delhi: Parts of Bharat Mandapam see some flooding in morning

There was 'ankle-deep' water on one side of the venue in the morning. It has been cleared now

Several parts of New Delhi, including Pragati Maidan, witnessed rainfall on Saturday. Although it brought some respite from the heat for the citizens of the national capital, it caused waterlogging at the venue of the ongoing G20 Summit, Bharat Mandapam.

There was "ankle-deep" water on one side of the venue in the morning. The authorities have cleared the water now. Moreover, entry to the venue from the Mandapam side has been closed for Indian media.

The international media centre did not see any flooding.

Posts about the venue's flooding have also gone viral on social media.

In a post, INC TV, an official media platform for the Congress party, shared a video of the waterlogged venue. The video also showed authorities working to clear it.

Notably, Delhi had deployed four heavy-duty mobile de-watering trucks to prevent waterlogging during the G20 Summit.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena, during his review meetings in the run-up to the summit, had repeatedly stressed putting in place a comprehensive and foolproof contingency plan in and around the G20 venues to deal with waterlogging or flooding situations in the city in case it rains heavily during the event.

In an interview with news agency PTI, Saxena had earlier said that 60 heavy-duty mobile pumping sets will be deployed around the Pragati Maidan, the venue for the event.

"Areas prone to waterlogging have been taken care of with the construction of drains and underground storage tanks," he said.

More rain today?

Delhiites witnessed overnight rains on Saturday. On Sunday, too, parts of Delhi saw rainfall. The minimum temperature settled at 23.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD said Delhi recorded 39 mm of rainfall till 8:30 am on Sunday. The relative humidity was 100 per cent at 8:30 am.

IMD further said the city, which is hosting heads of state from around the world for the G20 Summit, is likely to witness generally cloudy skies with moderate rainfall during the day. The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 30 degrees Celsius.