Heavy downpour hits traffic, flights
Heavy rains lashed the city on Tuesday evening bringing respite after a long dry spell but also caused heavy waterlogging and brought the traffic to a standstill across the city.
Indira Gandhi International airport also bore the brunt of the downpour which led to diversion of four flights, including an Air India flight from Mumbai in which home minister Sushilkumar Shinde was coming to Delhi. According to Met department, 69.5 mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung and 27.4 mm at Palam airport between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm.
The rains brought much needed relief from sultry weather but commuters had a harrowing time as many parts of the city witnessed waterlogging and traffic snarls.
Long queue of cars, buses and two-wheelers were seen at Laxminagar, ITO, Kashmere Gate, Munirka, Dwarka and Dhaula Kuan and other places as it was the peak time for office-goers to return home.
Key intersections such as the ITO crossing, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, Ring Road and roads connecting Delhi to satellite towns of Noida and Gurgaon witnessed heavy traffic jams due to flooding at several spots.
“Though we were waiting for it to rain, this downpour is harrowing while going home from office,” said Rajesh Majumdar, who was caught in traffic jam near Akshardham temple on his way to Delhi from Noida.
“Roads are looking like flowing drains. The rain is welcome, but not the traffic jams,” said Shalini, a software professional.
“I had to wade through knee deep water in South Extension. Traffic was crawling and no autos were available as the roads were flooded,” said another commuter.
The maximum temperature settled at 35.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature was 25.8° Celsius, two notches below average.
The humidity level oscillated between 65 and 92 per cent. The meteorological department has forecast more rains on Wednesday. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 36° Celsius and 26° Celsius, respectively.
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