Rains unleash Friday fury in Delhi, one dead

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Heavy rains drenched Delhi today unleashing chaos in the city with thousands of commuters stranded on roads for hours as traffic went haywire due to waterlogging while a minor girl lost her life in a wall collapse.

The rains that began early morning continued through the day and the rain gauges measured 96.1 mm of showers between 4 AM and 5.30 PM. Today''s rainfall is the second highest this season after the 67.9 mm rainfall recorded in 12 hours on August 12.

Improper drainage and uprooted trees led to traffic disruption on all major roads. While 183 areas in the city faced waterlogging, MCD received 17 complaints of fallen tress and 19 complaints of fallen buildings parts.

The traffic jams which started around 9 AM when the rains were at their peak continued till late in the evening as thousands of office-goers got stuck at flyovers and other roads across the city for several hours together.

The scene was bumper-to-bumper at all major roads and intersections and people waded through waist-deep water to reach bus stands and metro stations in many places.

The Sun was nowhere to be seen as incessant rains made it difficult for people to come out.

September last year received the highest rainfall (332.9 mm) in ten years.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 25.1 degree Celsius, normal for this time of the year, as against yesterday''s 26.1 degrees. The maximum was recorded at 34.2 degree Celsius yesterday.

The heavy showers led to the death of a minor girl when a boundary wall of an MCD hospital in Gautam Colony of Narela collapsed at around 7:30 AM. Some children on their way to school were trapped in the debris, they said.

One of the girls was found dead while two or three others are feared trapped under the debris.

Exposing claims of civic bodies' better preparedness this time to tackle rains, water logging and traffic problems were reported from across the city.

Vehicles were seen wading through water in almost all parts of the city.

One side of the busy Vikas Marg was closed for traffic due to water-logging.

Some commuters parked their vehicles at nearby Metro stations and boarded trains to their destinations.

"I went to Noida for a work and I was returning to my office in Connaught Place. I started from Noida at 11.30 AM and could reach my office only by 3 PM. It was a harrowing time and I can never forget this in my life," Aditya Kapoor, a software professional, said.

The experinec of Anindita Dasgupta, an official working in a government department, was no different.

"I generally take 25 minutes to reach my office in Gole Market from Jangpura but today it took more than an hour. There was water logging everywhere. Auto drivers were not ready to take passengers as the roads were all inundated," she said.

"The water was waist-high from Ashram to Lajpat Nagar," said a commuter Sonam Goel.

Rainwater entered many areas in Laxmi Nagar area, RK Puram, Karol Bagh and other places and pumps were used to clear the water.

Traffic was affected due to water logging at Rail Bhavan near Parliament, Rafi Marg, Vikas Marg, Africa Avenue, GGR-PDR Road, Adhchini, Mayapuri chowk, Naraina road, IP flyover, Kalindi Kunj, Malviya Nagar and Yusuf Sarai. Water logging was also reported near Patparganj flyover,
Defence Colony flyover, Lala Lajpat Rai road, GTB road, Patel Chest to Daulat Ram College, Prahladpur, Keshav Chowk Railway bridge, DND flyover, Maharani Bagh and Govindpuri.

Ashram Chowk, Niti Bagh, MB road, Air Force Station, Pamposh Enclave, Nehru Place, Saket Court, Lado Sarai and Shivaji Stadium metro station were the other places where similar problems were reported.

Traffic movement was affected from OP Marg to IIT as well as Loni road, Durga Puri chowk, Khajuri to Brijpuri, Kishan Ganj railway bridge, Azad Nagar to Shahadra, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Shanti Van, Janakpuri, Sagarpur and PHQ.

Tilak Bridge, Mathura Road, Purana Qila, Laxmi Nagar metro station, Vikaspuri and Shahdra under pass were the other areas where water logging was reported.