NEW DELHI: In view of incessant rains in the national capital, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday spoke to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and took updates.
Shah spoke to Delhi LG as moderate to heavy rain lashed several parts of the national capital and its adjoining areas. The downpour slowed down the traffic movement after waterlogging in several parts of the city.
Pictures and videos of commuters wading through knee-deep water flooded social media platforms, raising concerns about the efficiency of the city’s drainage infrastructure.
Considering the situation, Delhi Traffic Police kept updating Delhi’ites about traffic affected in parts of the city through its Twitter account by uploading pictures of the waterlogged areas.
In a recent alert through one such tweet, the Delhi Traffic Police mentioned, “Traffic is affected in the carriageway from Kalindi Kunj towards Okhla and vice-versa due to waterlogging and breakdown of vehicles at Okhla underpass. Commuters are advised to avoid these stretches”.
“Traffic is affected on Bhairon Marg in the carriageway from Ring road towards Mathura road and vice-versa due to waterlogging under Railway bridge Bhairon Marg. Traffic is diverted towards Pragati Maidan tunnel,” another tweet of the Delhi Traffic Police mentioned.
“Movement of traffic is restricted on old Delhi Gurugram road in the carriageway from Kapashera towards Dwarka due to maintenance work at T-point Samalkha. Kindly avoid the stretch,” read another tweet.
Strong winds and showers also caused disruptions in power and internet connectivity in several areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in a tweet on Sunday morning, has also said: “Thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of isolated places of Delhi.”
The places, where the rainfall was predicted, include Narela, Alipur, Rohini, Badili, Pitampura, Paschim Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Kashmiri Gate, Seelampur, Rajauri Garden, Red Fort, Rajeev Chauk, ITO and Jafarpur.
Delhi recorded 153 mm of rain in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Sunday, the highest in a single day in July since 1982, the IMD has said.
As per the IMD, an interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds is leading to an intense rainfall spell over northwest India, including Delhi which experienced the season’s first “very heavy” rainfall. (ANI)