Deja vu: Uprooted trees, waterlogging, traffic jams
New Delhi: When heavy rain and gusty winds lashed Delhi on Sunday morning, many office-goers breathed a sigh of relief — after all, it was not a hectic weekday. But for those on the road, it was a different story.
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Delhi Traffic Police, PWD control room, MCD, and NDMC were flooded with distress calls, reporting waterlogging at nearly 100 locations.
Underpasses were among the worst hit. Among these was one in Delhi Cantonment, where visuals showed cars almost fully submerged in the underpass. Another video showed a car almost completely under water at Minto Road, a waterlogging hotspot.
ITO and Connaught Place also saw waterlogging.
Early visuals showed inundation near the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place and the Shivaji Metro station. In ITO, commuters waded through flooded roads.
Strong gusts of wind blew across the city before the rain poured down, uprooting trees throughout central Delhi. On Akbar Road, the wind knocked down multiple trees in a concentrated area.
The NH-48 stretch from Dhaula Kuan to Gurgaon became a nightmare for commuters.
Sources said that only one lane was barely usable, leading to massive traffic snarls. Other notorious hotspots — Dhaula Kuan to Naraina flyover loop, New Delhi Railway Station's Paharganj side, Majnu Ka Tila, Zakir Hussain flyover underpass, Rohtak Road, and the infamous Minto Bridge underpass — were all severely waterlogged.
Delhi Traffic Police issued real-time alerts on social media. One read: "Traffic Alert: Varun Marg near Kotla Mubarakpur is affected by waterlogging.
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Please plan your journey accordingly." Another urged commuters to avoid GTK Road near Jahangirpuri metro station. The Azad Market underpass also had to be shut to traffic due to flooding. The road to Terminal 3 of IGI Airport remained waterlogged, inconveniencing travellers.
Junctions such as ITO and Dhaula Kuan saw vehicles wading through flooded stretches. Upscale Chanakyapuri, home to several foreign embassies, wasn't spared either.
Frustrated commuters took to social media to vent. One user wrote: "Traffic jam at Airport Road near RR Hospital in Dhaula Kuan. Water on the road is severely affecting traffic towards the airport." Another fumed: "Huge waterlogging resulting jams at 5am — sheer incompetence of GNCTD officers."
UPSC aspirants were hit hard. One person wrote: "Late arrival of flight 6E 6076 (24 May), scheduled to land in Delhi at 2am on 25 May.
Unfortunately, it was delayed by approximately 7 hours and arrived only at 8.45am. As a result, my wife was unable to attend the UPSC exam at 9.30am in Sector 4, Gurgaon. Despite planning in advance with sufficient buffer time, the delay rendered our efforts futile."
As helpful suggestions poured in for UPSC aspirants, many urged candidates to leave at least 30 minutes early and use the metro instead of risking road delays.
One user wrote: "Mera UPSC ka centre iss school me hai. Aur isi school ke entry gate ke pass lohe ka ek gate hai jaha pani bahut bhara hai aur electricity ka ek pole bhi gira hai," highlighting electrocution risk.
Traffic officials said that as soon as they received information, it was transferred to the civic agency, and regular messaging was done through social media. PWD received around 45 calls related to waterlogging. There was flooding in Pragati Maidan Tunnel, Azadpur, Mukarba Chowk, and underpasses like Dwarka and Minto Road Bridge.
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