Public Works Department had claimed to install 1,000 pumps, but knee-deep water on arterial roads results in hours-long snarls
It took Rachna Bali close to one-and-a-half hours to reach ITO from South Extension on Tuesday morning as traffic crawled through waterlogged roads. Like Bali, hundreds of commuters had a difficult day wading through stretches of roads submerged in rain water. In fact, in some areas, the traffic was still stuck till late in the evening, such as on the DND flyover.
The city woke up to heavy rainfall and the morning peak hour traffic was choked at several major points, giving a hard time to the commuters. The city received 26.4mm of rain, heaviest in 24 hours since 2013, starting Monday night. Making the Delhi government's claims of massive desilting fall flat on the face, the rains brought the national Capital to a halt, with knee-deep water on arterial roads resulting in hours-long traffic snarls.
The Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for maintaining all 60 feet (and above) roads in the city, received over 300 complaints of waterlogging in just 24 hours. This included complaints posted on the WhatsApp helpline number 8130188222, launched recently by the AAP government. Besides, the municipal corporations received close to 50 complaints of waterlogging, while at least 43 trees were uprooted.
Key routes, including stretches on Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Mathura Road, near RTR flyover, AIIMS, Ashram Chowk, Vikas Marg, Lakshmi Nagar, Dwarka underpass, Nirankari Road, Tilak Bridge, Kahsmere Gate, DND flyover, and Punjabi Bagh flyover, among others, remained submerged.
The PWD and other civic agencies failed to clear the water at most spots and pedestrians had to wade through muck-filled water to reach their destinations. "I was coming back from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the morning when I got stuck for nearly 35 minutes in at least 4 feet deep water at Vayusenabad on the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. The stretch carries heavy traffic on a daily basis. I don't understand why the authorities don't fix this point, which has been prone to waterlogging for years now?" rued Chetna Adhikari, a commuter.
Responding to a query, however, a senior PWD official said: "We had deployed extra pumps to clear out the water. At some stretches, the volume of water was too much, which took about an hour to clear."
Vulnerable spots
Mehrauli-Badarpur Road
Outer Ring Road
Ring Road
Aurobindo Marg
Moolchand Flyover
Qutub Institutional Area
AIIMS
Ashram Chowk
Dwarka underpass
Punjabi Bagh flyover
Laxmi Nagar
Zakhira
DND flyover
ANALYSIS
Every monsoon, despite all claims, the city witnesses long traffic jams. The major drains — Kushak and Barapullah — need to be cleaned throughout the year to prevent waterlogging.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "WATER_LOGGED")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}