Chaos takes over city roads again
NEWDELHI: Continuous rain on Friday again resulted in widespread water-logging and snarls throughout Delhi. Sections of the road caved in at two key stretches due to constant rain, which started early morning and went on past noon. Cars and motorcycles were forced to wade through knee-deep water and people were seen pushing out stuck cars across the city.
The road cave-ins occurred at two key stretches — Noida to Jasola U-turn and Andheria Mor to Mahipalpur. Public Works Department (PWD) officials said the cave-in at Andheria Mor happened due to construction work, which may have resulted in the road settling in. Though there were no reported injuries, officials said traffic was obstructed most of the day, after which commuters were asked on social media to avoid the route.
Key stretches connecting DelHI-NCR including Ring Road, Rao Tula Ram (RTR) flyover, Mehrauli-badarpur Road, MehrauliMahipalpur Road going to IGI Airport, Sarita Vihar underpass, Moolchand to AIIMS, Ramlila Maidan, Badarpur and Okhla, among others, witnessed heavy traffic jams, the Delhi Traffic Police said.
Traffic piled up at some places due to breakdown of cluster buses, including one at Anand Vihar ISBT.
“It was a harrowing morning, as traffic was stuck at almost every route I took. The carriageway from Moolchand to AIIMS was packed,” said, Sanjay Sethi, a commuter.
PWD officials said the bell mouths of drains get “clogged with garbage” which restricts water flow in the drains. Senior PWD officer, said, “There are sev- eral factors, including coordination among agencies as well as the city’s drainage system, which needs a major overhaul. We have also submitted these points in our report to the Delhi High Court.”
The HC had recently asked the Delhi government’s chief secretary to conduct a meeting of all stakeholders over recurring water-logging in the city. The court had taken suo motu cognisance in the matter on July 16 and had again reiterated its order on July 26, asking officials to submit a comprehensive report. The court took note after a bus was submerged at the Shivaji Bridge underpass (formerly known as Minto Bridge) after heavy rains on July 13.
The Traffic Police helpline recorded at least 15 complaints of water-logging on Friday. Ghazipur Mandi, intersection under the Modi Mill flyover, Aali Village traffic signal, Rajapuri Chowk and Sarita Vihar underpass were among the stretches that were packed.