Darkness grips Delhi at 10 in the morning

NEW DELHI: It was not darkness at noon but at 10 a.m. as the skies over the Indian capital clouded over on Wednesday and a light drizzle gave way to a massive storm with drivers slowing to snail's pace as the wind uprooted trees and dust swirled.

It was a sight Delhi was just not used to in the middle of normally sunny May.

"It was scary. When I boarded the metro from Central Secretariat, it was warm and sunny after a light drizzle. But when I got off at Delhi University, the weather had taken a complete turn," said Mahi Sharma, a student.

"Initially I though it must be a power cut since it was so dark. But when I stepped out, the storm nearly pushed me back. With no rickshaw puller in sight, I was stranded in the metro station for a good 20 minutes," she said.

For Rajiv Mehra, a resident of Chanakyapuri, the situation was worse.

"When the storm started to die down, I decided to go out and take a look. I was shocked to see my car partly crushed under a big tree! Along with the tree, an electricity pole was also uprooted adding to the damage," he said.

In some areas, electricity snapped. Aruna Mehra, a homemaker and a resident of Safdarjung Enclave in south Delhi, said that there was a power cut for about 20 minutes in her area.

In nearby Gurgaon, alerts were sent out on the public address systems in high rise condominiums asking people to shut their doors and windows.