Waterlogging & snarls dampen the joy of rain

Several areas in the city reported waterlogging after heavy showers lashed some parts of the city on Wednesday. With construction activity being carried out in various parts of the city, the waterlogging resulted in traffic jams in many areas.
Among the main points of waterlogging were ISBT to Nigam Bodh Ghat, Minto Road under-bridge, Gupta Market, Lajpat Nagar, Adchini, Paharganj, CWGO Complex, Rajghat, Chandni Chowk among others.
“In Old Delhi area, there was knee deep water at several points including Jama Masjid, in front of Lal Qila and at the inter state bus terminal,” said a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official. He said there are a number of low-lying areas in the city and they are bound to get flooded once it rains. Also, the water takes some time to make its way in the drains.
However, the central control room of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said they received only 13 complaints of waterlogging from different part of the city. They also received and five complaints of tree falling. “We have deployed staff across all the zones to ensure that the openings of drains gully-gratings, bell-mouths are kept clean at all times. We have identified 139 vulnerable points which are prone to waterlogging,” said the official.
People returning to their homes after office were the worst affected due to traffic jams caused by the sudden rain. “I was returning from North Campus. There was heavy traffic jam from the Old Delhi Railway Station to Dilli Gate. My car was half-submerged in rainwater near Lal Qila. Traffic was crawling. It took us more than a hour to reach ITO and even after that there was no relief as the ITO traffic intersection was also clogged,” said Ramesh Sharma, a Delhi University employee. Heavy snarls were reported near Moolchand flyover, Green Park and Dhaula Kuan.
“Going to Nehru Place from Vasant Vihar is a harassment anyways as there is always a traffic jam. The sudden rain escalated the problem. I was stuck in traffic more than two hours,” said Sumita Verma, a management trainee.