The photograph of a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus submerged below the Minto Bridge in New Delhi has gone viral with people commenting on the sad state of affairs of the national capital’s civic infrastructure.
Waterlogging was witnessed in many parts of Delhi-NCR after heavy rains battered the region on Friday afternoon. While the showers brought respite to many from the humid spell, it exposed, once again, the dismal condition of the roads and drainage system in India’s power centre.
The bus – a low-floor, air-conditioned vehicle – was photographed in the middle of Minto Bridge, with only the roof visible.
Curious onlookers gathered around the Minto Bridge, a notorious catchment area in the city, to catch a glimpse of the alarming situation.
There were seven to eight occupants in the low-floor bus when it got stranded. All of them were rescued by the Delhi Fire Service.
Questions are being raised as to why the driver tried to drive the bus through the water. In a video posted on Facebook, a man inside the bus is heard saying that the water level was not high when the driver tried to navigate through it.
Many took to Twitter to criticise the government for not taking note of waterlogging during the monsoon season which creates familiar sights, such as winding traffic jams, on the roads of the national capital every year. Some others compared the Delhi incident to the recent scenes of waterlogging in Mumbai.
SHOCKING VISUALS: A spell of rains in Delhi wreaks havoc on the traffic, exposes the monsoon preparedness of the authorities. Look how this DTC bus is stuck in water near the Minto Road bridge. It’s time we wake the officials up. pic.twitter.com/m1qZ3BOXOt
— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) July 13, 2018
@LtGovDelhi @HardeepSPuri @drharshvardhan @VijayGoelBJP Harsh reality of inefficiency of MCD. Fours of blame gsme over. Delhi rain: DTC bus submerged under Minto Road Bridge, close shave for passengers
https://t.co/7GL8jHohbE— Anil Sood (@anil0420) July 14, 2018
Today’s headline: #delhirain #rainofterror – #redline bus submerged below historic #delhi #minto bridge – was this diver a lunatic to drive the bus when the water levels were rising or is this #FakeNews ?@DelhiGovernment @DelhiGovernance @tweetndmc @dtptraffic @LtGovDelhi pic.twitter.com/e4m276o7lq
— Mukesh Butani 🇮🇳 (@mukeshbutani) July 14, 2018
I never get this. Why does Delhi transport authority has to submerge a passenger bus under the Minto Bridge EVERY FUCKIN YEAR. Stop it guys.. it costs a lot of tax money. pic.twitter.com/a0Pa7HF2kZ
— Ulta-Jawab and 56 others (@timepassindelhi) July 14, 2018
This Delhi not Mumbai….A Bus is Stranded on Water Logging after heavy monsoon rain at Minto Bridge I CP new Delhi…#rains #ndmc #indiaphotographyclub #instagram #indiapictures #india_gram #_soi #everydayindia #sodelhi #everydayeverywhere #everydayasia #aisa #PHOTOS pic.twitter.com/NC6KjfMowy
— Hemant Rawat (@hrawat19) July 13, 2018
Bus stuck in water logging in Minto bridge. This was the sight today after 40mnts of rain. If Delhi govt and pwd had done their job properly, this would have not been the plight of the ppl.@ManojTiwariMP @BJP4Delhi @TajinderBagga pic.twitter.com/CQGdAEnWuM
— Vikram Mittal (@VikramMittalbjp) July 13, 2018
Mumbai , we comin https://t.co/tqnC43AJaC
— Saurabh Singh (@soopified) July 13, 2018
#Delhi Every year with the first heavy downpour we see photos of a bus submerged in water under the Shivaji Bridge. Sometimes feel if same photo being used for last few decades.
— Vijay Maroo (@vijaymaroo) July 14, 2018
New delhi of New India is testing its first water bus.. big achievement for India. pic.twitter.com/1elNW3TcYh
— KUMAR INDIAN (@NayakRobbert) July 13, 2018
3hrs of rain and a bus got submerged under water due to excessive water logging in Delhi.
This is the quality of infrastructure.
CM @ArvindKejriwal and @HardeepSPuri sir, please see.#DelhiRains pic.twitter.com/A6ofwvHea3— Kushal Sharma (@kushal3sharma) July 13, 2018
This is delhi or bombay??? Who is accountable for this .??? A bus fully submerged into water. Loss of public money. https://t.co/oR9nyRxEju
— Rवीन्द्र’Ghazipuri’ (@ravindraei10) July 13, 2018
Minto Bridge is located next to the posh Connaught Place market and the Minto Road underneath is situated at a very low elevation leading to waterlogging there year after year.
Several areas in Delhi faced waterlogging as heavy rains lashed the national capital forcing many people to wade through knee-deep water.
In north Delhi, waterlogging was reported at over 30 places, including in Mukherjee Nagar, Nehru Vihar, Outram Lines, Adarsh Nagar, Shashtri Nagar and Inderpuri, civic officials said.
In south Delhi, waterlogging was reported from at least eight places, including in Vasant Kunj, Neb Serai, Jasola, Pragati Maidan Gate number four and Malviya Nagar’s Tikona Park.
Two trees were uprooted in south Delhi in the rains while one got uprooted in north Delhi’s Keshav Puram area.
According to the Safdarjung observatory, the recordings of which are considered official figures for Delhi, the city received 52.4 mm of rain between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm.
Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge and Ayanagar observatories recorded 14.2 mm, 44.2 mm, 118.4 mm and 71.4 mm of rain respectively during that period.
Waterlogging was also reported from areas around the Mayapuri flyover, Naraina flyover, Bhairon Marg, Airport Road, Mathura Road, Moolchand underpass, Chhatarpur metro station, Baba Khadak Singh Marg, Defence Colony flyover and Shadipur metro station, forcing commuters to navigate through knee-deep water.
But, not everyone cursed the waterlogging in their areas, as many children and youth ventured out and made merry as the heavens opened up.