As Delhi received incessant rainfall with the onset of monsoon, from waterlogging and power cut to uprooted trees and traffic snarls, the national capital battled several challenges on Friday. The intense weather condition so far has claimed eight lives including two children who died by drowning in waterlogged areas.
Monsoon arrived in Delhi with the highest in a single day precipitation of June in 88 years. Life came to a standstill with roads inundated while flight operations were suspended at Delhi Airport's Terminal-1 due to a canopy collapse.
Delhi heavy rains: 2 children among the dead
It has been reported that two boys aged eight and 10 years drowned while playing in a five-foot-deep rainwater-filled ditch near Pusta No. 5 in the New Usmanpur area in northeast Delhi on Friday evening. Officials said the bodies were sent for post-mortem and further investigation is underway.
Upon receiving information about the boys, police rushed to the spot and rescued the boys but they were declared dead on arrival at the hospital, police said.
The bodies of three labourers were pulled from the rubble of a wall that collapsed at a construction site in the Vasant Vihar area. One person died due to the Delhi airport canopy collapse.
In s separate incident, a man in his late 20s, drowned at a flooded underpass in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area. The officer said the deceased was a part-time labourer at Azadpur Mandi but he is yet to be unidentified.
Delhi heavy rains: Over 300 complaints of waterlogging
As torrential rainfall battered the national capital on Friday, the civic agencies and police received over 300 complaints concerning various waterlogging issues from across Delhi. Calls were also received over traffic issues and and falling of trees.
According to the Delhi Public Works Department, they received more than 200 calls alone on Friday regarding the waterlogging issues while the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) got 33 complaints regarding the waterlogging issue. Some of the areas where the issue was reported are Rajinder Nagar, Sabzi Mandi Old, Rajouri Garden Extension, Khanpur, Hauz Khas, Pitampura and Malviya Nagar.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) command and control room received 90 calls of waterlogging and 15 calls pertaining to falling of trees. The complaints were received from areas like Sarojini Nagar underpass, also known as Africa Avenue Road, Laxmibai Nagar, Tughlak Road, Golf Links, Bharti Nagar, Kidwai Nagar, Mandir Marg, Connaught Place E Block and Gole Market, according to the NDMC officials.
Majority of the complaints were resolved within half an hour while it took two to three hours to resolve waterlogging at Sarojini Nagar underpass, they said.
Delhi heavy rains: Traffic disruption, houses flooded
Key tunnels like the one at Pragati Maidan were closed and reports of homes being flooded came in from across the city, including the upscale areas of Lutyens' Delhi. Delhi traffic police yesterday shared several inputs on the areas affected by waterlogging and traffic congestion.
According to Delhi traffic police, areas including Ring Road in both the carriageways from Naraina towards Moti Bagh, Vir Banda Bairagi Marg, Aurobindo Marg towards AIIMS and W-Point Tilak Bridge road are heavily affected due to waterlogging.
Bungalows of Delhi Water Minister Atishi and several MPs, including Congress' Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari and Samjawadi Party's Ramgopal Yadav, were flooded.
Delhi heavy rains: Metro services uninterrupted
According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the DMRC services operated without any major disruptions despite the heavy rainfall that lashed Delhi and its nearby areas on Friday. However, rainwater entered some Metro stations such as Kashmere Gate, Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector-25 and Jangpura affecting certain passenger areas at the concourse level. This occurred due to water accumulation outside the entry gates.
“DMRC immediately deployed teams to clear the rainwater, ensuring minimal inconvenience to commuters. We are also working in coordination with all the concerned departments in this regard. Additionally, a thorough review is underway to identify the causes and implement necessary measures to prevent future occurrences,” said Anuj Dayal, Principal Executive Director, Corporate Communications, DMRC.
