Monsoon rains chaos on Delhi’s roads
Water-logging, road cave-in, ongoing construction spell trouble for commuters
nNEWDELHI: Heavy downpour Monday night and during the day on Tuesday led to massive waterlogging yet again in many parts of the city, triggering traffic jams. A portion of road caved in on Bhairon Marg and near ITO bus stand, adding to traffic snarls on arterial roads such as Mathura Road, Ring Road, Vikas Marg, Sarai Kale Khan and parts of central and New Delhi.
Massive waterlogging was reported from Ring Road near Indraprastha Metro station, Bhairon Marg rail underbridge, Sarai Kale Khan main road, ITO, Laxmi Nagar, Lado Sarai, Gautam Nagar, near Dhaula Kuan underpass on Ring Road, Bihari Colony, Wazirabad Road, near Rajdhani College, Najafgarh main road, Sector-4 and 23 in Rohini, Shastri Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Patel Nagar, Paschim Vihar and Mangolpuri rail underbridge.
Moderate to heavy rain on Sunday and Monday also caused waterlogging, which has become a regular problem during monsoon. On Sunday, a tempo driver had drowned in the flooded Minto Bridge underpass.
Public Works Department and municipal officials said temporary pumps were immediately put in place to clear the roads. However, the authorities had to toil hard to clear stagnant water from the stretch between Indraprastha Metro station and Vikas Minar on Ring Road.
“Due to damage to the Anna Nagar slum drain, we have been facing problems in pumping out water from the area as it backflows on the Ring Road service road near WHO building, Azad Bhawan and even spills on the ITO road. The SDMC is repairing the drain and waterlogging cannot completely be fixed until the drain is fully repaired. Stormwater from around the ITO area is discharged in this drain only,” a senior PWD official said.
The Delhi traffic police, in a statement, said that because of heavy waterlogging on Ring Road near the WHO building, severe traffic snarls were witnessed on the Bhairon Marg leading to Mathura Road. Apart from the ongoing construction work on the stretch, a road cave-in ensured it remained out of bounds for traffic.
“Because of the cave-in and the heavy traffic volume on the stretch, we had to divert vehicles coming from Akshardham towards Sarai Kale Khan to further go through Barapullah and those coming from the Ashram side towards Akshardham to take the Geeta Colony flyover via Pushta Road,” joint commissioner of police (traffic) Narendra Singh Bundela said on Tuesday.
The department also issued an advisory for drivers coming from the Ashram side to take the DND flyway, Mayur Vihar, Noida Link
Road, Akshardham and Pushta Road. No vehicle was allowed towards ITO from Nizamuddin.
Sumitra Atreya, a resident of Noida, said since the traffic was diverted onto the DND and Noida link road, commuters faced a harrowing time on Tuesday evening.
“Traffic on that stretch is already diverted because of the ongoing construction at the Ashram intersection. Traffic didn’t move at all for 20 minutes and there was no policeman to direct the traffic,” she said.
Traffic holdups were also reported from Moti Bagh, Munirka, Rajouri Garden, Sarojini Nagar (on the Ring Road), Mathura Road (near Apollo), Sagarpur, and Ring Road near Delhi Cantt Metro station.
The heavy rain also led to collapse of portions of six buildings and at least 16 trees being uprooted.
PWD minister Satyendar Jain said 1,500 pumps – including mobile pumps – have been deployed across the city to prevent waterlogging.
Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev held an emergency meeting on Monday on the city’s monsoon preparedness plan. The chief secretary said that the head of the departments (Hods) of the agencies responsible for tackling monsoon related problems will be held responsible for any lapses
Experts have said the multiplicity of authority in managing drainage and roads is the primary reason behind the annual monsoon misery. At least 11 agencies — PWD, the three civic bodies, Delhi Development Authority, irrigation and flood control, New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board — are responsible for de-silting of drains alongside roads under their jurisdiction.
COMPENSATION FOR MINTO BRIDGE VICTIM
The Delhi government will be providing financial assistance of ₹10 lakh to the family of a 56-yearold man who drowned while trying to manoeuvre his mini-truck through the waterlogged Minto Bridge underpass, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Monday.
Kundan Singh, survived by his wife and two daughters, was going from the New Delhi Railway Station to Connaught Place when he got stuck under the bridge on Sunday.
“The Delhi government is providing financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the family of deceased Kundan Singh, who lost his life in the unfortunate incident near Minto Bridge,” the official account of the Aam Aadmi Party tweeted in Hindi.