RAIN OF TERROR: YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE

New Delhi: When it rains heavily in Delhi, as it did on Monday, there’s a resigned acceptance of waterlogging across the city. Flooded streets and traffic gridlocks are constants each rainy season, whether PWD and the municipal corporations have claimed to have fully unclogged the stormwater drains or not. On Monday too, it was with a defeated shrug that many Delhiites heard about the death in Pul Prahladpur and rain-related news from Narela, Lampur, Kishanganj and Dwarka plus the inundation of Vikas Marg, ITO, Najafgarh, Ring Road, Uttam Nagar and Ashram.

In places like Kirari and Ramesh Enclave, water entered the houses, while shopkeepers grumbled about stocks being damaged by flooding at Sadar Bazar and Azad Market.

Despite the general mayhem, a PWD official continued to placidly claim that the engineers responsible for maintaining specific areas were present at the sites from where complaints had been received and were overseeing the pumping work. “We have been working throughout the night and through the day to ensure the roads aren’t clogged,” the official said.

PWD officials appeared to validate their claims by citing the conditions at Minto Bridge and Chandni Chowk, the perennial problem spots. “The main road in Chandni Chowk used to be completely submerged if it rained this heavily. Minto Bridge too used to go under. But both were absolutely clean today, thanks to the new drainage,” said one official.

In south Delhi, there were complaints of waterlogging at 37 locations. Falling trees were reported from Jangpura, Kalkaji, Amar Colony, Nehru Place, Akshardham Apartments, Greater Kailash II, Chittaranjan Park and Green Park. The incessant rains lead to walls collapsing near Gitanjali Park, Sagarpur, Najafgarh and Gopal Nagar and buildings being damaged in Om Vihar, Madhuban Enclave, Madipur and Jasola Village.

North Delhi Municipal Corporation reported waterlogging in Kishanganj, Kanjhawala, Jaunti Road, Ashoka Road and Mubarakpur. In Sadar Bazaar, water flowed into the warehouses and shops at Pratap Market. In east Delhi, there was waterlogging near the Ghazipur chicken market, Mother Dairy and the Pandav Nagar underpass, while a tree fell in Ashok Nagar.

In Pul Prahladpur, a man reportedly drowned in the flooded underpass there. But this usual problematic spot wasn’t the only place that suffered after the incessant rainfall. Commuters were frustrated by the trying conditions and were at their wits’ end trying to find a quick route to their offices and destinations, but ended up hours late. In fact, many told TOI of having to return home because it was almost impossible to go where they were headed to.

Delhi traffic police tweeted throughout the day on roads that needed to be avoided and diverted vehicles at many points, which only caused the alternative routes to become jammed. After the cave-in near the police station at Sector 17, Dwarka, the traffic cops asked motorists to avoid the stretch. Officers claimed to have increased deployment on the roads to ensure quick resolving of problems. They admitted to receiving a lot of complaints and said personnel were available on the ground to handle any issue.