Incessant rains continued to lash Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday morning, deluging the arterial roads of Delhi-NCR and resulting in traffic snarls and chaotic scenes at many places.
Submerged underpasses, waist-deep water on roads, fallen trees and electricity poles gave the residents of Delhi and its satellite cities of Gurugram and Noida a rough time as heavy rains started pounding the national capital and its adjoining areas since early Wednesday morning.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted rainfall in Delhi till August 25.
Earlier in the day, the IMD in a weather bulletin informed that thunderstorm with light to moderate rain would continue to occur over many places of entire Delhi, IGI Airport, Dadri, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater-Noida, Ballabgarh, Faridabad, Gurugram, Manesar, Sohna, Modinagar, Pilakhua, Bulandshahar, Sikandarabad, Meerut, Siyana, Kharkhoda, Palwal, Hodal, Nuh, Jhajjar, Hapur, Farrukh Nagar, Kahrkhoda, and Bahadurgarh during the next two hours.
Vehicular traffic has been badly hit as it moved at a snail’s pace due to waterlogging on key road stretches.
According to the Delhi Traffic Police, two buses, including a DTC bus, broke down near the Taj Hotel while one mechanic motor vehicle broke down near Dhaula Kuan on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, the IMD had warned that continuous rain could result in water accumulation in the low-lying areas, traffic disruption, and increased chances of vehicle accidents. It had also requested people to step out only after checking the weather advisories.
Seven cars were reportedly damaged after the boundary wall of a school in Saket in south Delhi collapsed apparently due to the heavy rain, police said on Wednesday.
Trees fell at seven different locations and at eight places parts of buildings collapsed due to rain, the North MCD said. There were power cuts in some parts of the city.
Similar was the situation in Noida. Many road stretches and residential areas were submerged in water.
Residents also complained of water entering basements of high-rise buildings. Many people took to social media to share pictures and videos of the rain fury, with ankle to knee-deep water at certain places. Some residents also alleged mismanagement of the problem by government agencies.
Waterlogging also impacted commercial sectors of 62 and 63, 10, 12, 32 as well as several villages in Noida, while large swathes of low-lying open grounds were inundated.
Meanwhile, the flooding in Gurugram invited criticism from the opposition.
Senior Congress leader and former Haryana Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala took to Twitter to take a dig at the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP led government in Haryana.
According to the India Meteorological Department, south-westerly winds from the Arabian Sea and south-easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are feeding moisture to the Delhi-NCR region, leading to heavy rain.