Season’s heaviest shower halts Delhi, more rain likely

August 21, 2012 | Business | Written by

New Delhi, Aug 21: This monsoon season’s heaviest shower drenched Delhi Tuesday, bringing traffic to a halt. Rainfall recorded in the past 8 hours was 28.2 mm even as the Met office forecast more rain ahead.

Maximum temperature fell to 29.4 degrees Celsius, four notches below the average for the season.

According to weather office, Delhi received a total rainfall of 54.5 mm before 8.30 a.m., highest for the season.

Minimum temperature recorded for the day was 24.8 degrees Celsius, a notch below the average for the season. Humidity stood at 100 percent.

“Sky would remain generally cloudy. One or two heavy spells of rain are likely Wednesday,” said an official from India Meteorological Department (IMD).

“Maximum and minimum temperature would stay around 30 and 24 degrees Celsius,” added the official.

While the showers brought relief from muggy days, clogged drains and traffic jams added to the woes of commuters. Flooded roads and tailing vehicles caused traffic snarls in various parts of the city.

According to the traffic department helpline, jams were reported throughout the day in south Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan, Mehrauli, Modi Mills, Nehru Place, north Delhi’s Shakti Nagar and Ring Road, and many other key roads.

After torrential downpour from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the city roads were flooded and waterlogged and traffic crawled, leading to frayed tempers of motorists and commuters.

Even as many office-goers relied on Delhi Metro for safer commute, traffic during peak hours caused chaos.

“It has become the story of Moolchand flyover every monsoon season. The underpass is flooded and nobody has ever cared to get something done,” fumed Sudhanshu Saxena heading to Connaught Place from Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi.

Delhi Traffic Police also updated people on their own website and pages on social networking websites during the day.

According to the civic agency, waterlogging complaints were received from 64 areas, including south Delhi’s Green Park, Malaviya Nagar and Katwaria Sarai, west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, Pashchim Vihar and north Delhi’s Rohini.

IANS