Heavy rains lash Delhi

After a gap of a few days, heavy rains were back in the national capital today bringing along familiar problems like waterlogging and traffic disruptions. 

It started drizzling in various parts of the city early in the morning which turned into heavy intermittent showers later. The rain gauges measured 43.mm in just two hours from 8.30 am, the Met office said.

Rains led to waterlogging in many localities like Bhogal, Ashram, parts of Mathura Road and Defence Colony and various areas in the walled city. Motorists found it difficult to manoeuvre through heavy showers and waterlogged streets though it being a Sunday, there were less number of vehicles on the roads.

Due to waterlogging, traffic movement was slow on routes like Mathura Road, Ashram Chowk Ring Road, on under-bridge in
Chirag Dilli and Defence Colony flyover, MB Road Devli as well as near Qutab Minar and Kashmere Gate Metro Stations, the traffic police said.

The rains also brought the mercury down to 23.1 degree Celsius, a notch below normal. The humidity was recorded between 66% and 96%. 

The city, which is gearing up to host the Commonwealth Games in just two weeks, did not have heavy rains for the last five days. A prolonged-than-usual monsoon season caused problems in the preparations for the mega event, with chief minister Sheila Dikshit too blaming the "unprecedented rains" for the delays in completing works related to Games.

This month alone, the city received over 200 mm rains against the usual of around 90 mm. The MeT department says August also witnessed above normal rainfall.