This morning, Delhi woke up to heavy rainfall and water logging at several places in the city.
Continuous rains in the national capital for two days led to water logging at various places and traffic snarls, causing problems for the commuters.
Traffic snarls were reported from many parts of the city, including Dhaula Kuan, Ashram, Nehru Place, Panchsheel, Mahipalpur near the Indira Gandhi International airport and ITO junction, according to Delhi Traffic police.
In several residential colonies, drains were reportedly chocked and roads caved in.
The Met office said the city received a total of around 100 mm of rains in the last three days out of which 93.8 mm of rainfall, the highest of season, was recorded since 5:30 PM on Friday.
It said the city is likely to receive more rains in the next couple of days.
Heavy overnight rains resulted in waterlogging in areas across the city and commuters had to face inconvenience because of heavy traffic jams.
On Friday, scattered rainfall across the National Capital Region led to a fall in temperature in Delhi. The maximum temperature settled at 27.9 degrees Celsius, seven notches below season's average, the lowest in July in the last 12 years.
The weatherman had predicted more rains for Saturday. "The skies will generally be cloudy. Rain or thundershowers would occur in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle at 32 and 23 degrees respectively," said the weatherman.
Vehicular movement was slow in Amar Colony, Okhla, Wazirabad areas and on National Highway 8 even as many areas in east Delhi were virtually under water.
The minimum temperature was recorded a notch below normal at 26.2 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said.
"Due to intermittent rains, the maximum temperature settled at at 27.9 degrees Celsius, lowest in month of July since July, 2003, when the maximum temperature had plunged to 27.8 degrees Celsius," said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director BP Yadav.
The Safdarjung observatory, the official reading for the city, received 7.9 mm rainfall from 8.30 AM till 5.30 PM whereas areas under Palam, Ridge, Ayanagar and Lodhi road recorded 14 mm, 7.9 mm, 39.7 mm and 8.0 mm rainfall respectively in the same period.
Humidity in air oscillated between 95 and 78 per cent. Due to heavy, sporadic rain in the last 5 days, Delhi has received close to 50 mm rainfall with forecast of more rain over the weekend.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 33.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 25.2 degrees Celsius.
Helpline Launched
Delhi government today launched a helpline number by setting up a 24X7 centralised control room to register complaints about water logging in the city.
The move came after two days of rain exposed poor drainage system of the city, causing knee-deep waterlogging in some areas and heavy traffic jam across the national capital.
"Water drainage system is not adequate in the city. There is 160 such points which are prone to water-logging. In last few days, I held a meeting with PWD department and instructed them to ensure that water is pumped out from the street as soon as possible," PWD minister Satyendra Jain said.
Government claims that it has installed 150 mobile teams to pump out the water.
"Water draining system cannot be improved immediately but as soon we will get information of any water-logging a team will be sent which will try to pump out water from the area.
"There are many points where water-logging will happen. So to deal with it we are installing 150 mobile water pumps," Jain said.
Government's centralised helpline number is 1800118595 where residents can call and register their complaints about water-logging.
PWD claims that mobile pumps will be installed to ensure removal of water and have also stationed permanent pumps at low inclined areas.
"Buildings have come up at natural drainage system which has damaged water passage system. So the only solution is to pump out water from these areas," Jain explained.
For long term solution to solve water-logging issue, the government has asked IIT-Delhi to conduct a study on water drainage system of the city but is waiting for their recommendation.
"IIT Delhi is conducting a study on water drainage system of Delhi for last two and half years and they have demanded one more year to complete it. It is expected that they will come out with their recommendation to solve the issue," he said.
However, IIT Delhi was supposed to submit its report within a year but the project got delayed. The Minister has asked the institute to summit its finding as soon as possible.
Delhi government also claims that PWD has cleaned entire 1,260 kilometre-long stretch falling under its jurisdiction.
"We cleaned all the roads and drainage before the monsoon. There are some areas where cleaning work was carried out few months back so we are again cleaning those areas," Jain said.
The PWD Minister said there are many drains which were never been cleaned before so the department is trying to revive the city's drainage system.
"MCD claims that they have cleaned 95 per cent of roads which are under its jurisdiction," Jain said.
"PWD had repaired all the potholes of Delhi from May 1-21 but as during the monsoon chances of roads getting damaged is high so I have asked the department to carry out repair work side by side," he said.
Meanwhile, on social media, people have been posting pictures of the water logged streets and complaining about the unpreparedness of the government to cope with the rains.
Man Swept Away In Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, a man riding his motorbike was swept away in an over-flowing stream near a chak-dam at Gotara-Takelan on Friday.
The body of Kesari alias Beerbal (35) was recovered with his bike near the dam, a district official said.
Sikar recorded 10 cm of rainfall since morning with torrential rains affecting normal life and vehicular traffic in the district, he said.
A few low-lying areas in Sikar are still inundated but there is no danger to life as Disaster Management and Relief teams are working round the clock to pump out the rainy water, he said.
Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rains were recorded in most parts in last 24 hours with Phagi recording rainfall of 10 cm followed by Lunkaransar 9, Mojamabad 8, Jayal 7, Chirawa 6, Manohar Thana 5, Elera 4, Bansur 3, and 1-2 cms at many places in Rajasthan.
The desert districts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Churu are still waiting for adequate rains, a MeT report said.
Jaipur has cloudy skies and has recorded light rainfall of 1.3 mm since last night followed by Pilani at 1.1 mm since 8 AM.
This monsoon trend will continue during the weekend in the state, a forecast said.
Rains Bring Cheer To Haryana, Punjab Farmers
The first widespread monsoon rains today lashed vast swathes of Haryana and Punjab, bringing cheers to the farmers and giving relief to the people from the sultry weather conditions.
Maximum temperatures dropped sharply after rains lashed the region, MeT Department report said here.
Chandigarh was lashed by heavy showers in the late afternoon (30 mm) and the Union Territory's maximum settled at 30.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches than normal.
In Haryana, Rewari, Gurgaon, Ambala, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Hisar, Narnaul, Sonipat and Karnal, were among other places to be lashed by rains.
Ambala, which received 10 mm of rains, recorded a high of 30.7 degrees Celsius, down four notches than normal.
Bhiwani received a heavy downpour at 17 mm and the maximum there settled at 29.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal.
Hisar recorded a high of 31.5 degrees Celsius, down three notches while Narnaul had a pleasant day at 28 degrees Celsius, nine degrees below normal.
Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Ropar and Hoshiarpur were also lashed by rains.
Amritsar's maximum settled at 32.2 degrees Celsius, down three notches while Ludhiana, which received a heavy downpour at 61 mm, recorded a high of 32.3 degrees Celsius, also three below normal.
Patiala registered a maximum temperature of 30.5 degrees Celsius, down by three notches.
The MeT has forecast that moderate to rather heavy rains/ thunder showers would occur at many places in the two states including Chandigarh over the next few days.
Meanwhile, the heavy monsoon rains brought cheers on the face of farmers of the two leading agrarian states. The current wet spell is considered beneficial for paddy sowing.
With inputs from Agencies
![]()
Like Us On Facebook |
![]()
Follow Us On Twitter |
![]()
Contact HuffPost India
Continuous rains in the national capital for two days led to water logging at various places and traffic snarls, causing problems for the commuters.
Traffic snarls were reported from many parts of the city, including Dhaula Kuan, Ashram, Nehru Place, Panchsheel, Mahipalpur near the Indira Gandhi International airport and ITO junction, according to Delhi Traffic police.
In several residential colonies, drains were reportedly chocked and roads caved in.
The Met office said the city received a total of around 100 mm of rains in the last three days out of which 93.8 mm of rainfall, the highest of season, was recorded since 5:30 PM on Friday.
It said the city is likely to receive more rains in the next couple of days.
Heavy overnight rains resulted in waterlogging in areas across the city and commuters had to face inconvenience because of heavy traffic jams.
On Friday, scattered rainfall across the National Capital Region led to a fall in temperature in Delhi. The maximum temperature settled at 27.9 degrees Celsius, seven notches below season's average, the lowest in July in the last 12 years.
The weatherman had predicted more rains for Saturday. "The skies will generally be cloudy. Rain or thundershowers would occur in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle at 32 and 23 degrees respectively," said the weatherman.
Vehicular movement was slow in Amar Colony, Okhla, Wazirabad areas and on National Highway 8 even as many areas in east Delhi were virtually under water.
The minimum temperature was recorded a notch below normal at 26.2 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said.
"Due to intermittent rains, the maximum temperature settled at at 27.9 degrees Celsius, lowest in month of July since July, 2003, when the maximum temperature had plunged to 27.8 degrees Celsius," said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director BP Yadav.
The Safdarjung observatory, the official reading for the city, received 7.9 mm rainfall from 8.30 AM till 5.30 PM whereas areas under Palam, Ridge, Ayanagar and Lodhi road recorded 14 mm, 7.9 mm, 39.7 mm and 8.0 mm rainfall respectively in the same period.
Humidity in air oscillated between 95 and 78 per cent. Due to heavy, sporadic rain in the last 5 days, Delhi has received close to 50 mm rainfall with forecast of more rain over the weekend.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 33.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 25.2 degrees Celsius.
Helpline Launched
Delhi government today launched a helpline number by setting up a 24X7 centralised control room to register complaints about water logging in the city.
The move came after two days of rain exposed poor drainage system of the city, causing knee-deep waterlogging in some areas and heavy traffic jam across the national capital.
"Water drainage system is not adequate in the city. There is 160 such points which are prone to water-logging. In last few days, I held a meeting with PWD department and instructed them to ensure that water is pumped out from the street as soon as possible," PWD minister Satyendra Jain said.
Government claims that it has installed 150 mobile teams to pump out the water.
"Water draining system cannot be improved immediately but as soon we will get information of any water-logging a team will be sent which will try to pump out water from the area.
"There are many points where water-logging will happen. So to deal with it we are installing 150 mobile water pumps," Jain said.
Government's centralised helpline number is 1800118595 where residents can call and register their complaints about water-logging.
PWD claims that mobile pumps will be installed to ensure removal of water and have also stationed permanent pumps at low inclined areas.
"Buildings have come up at natural drainage system which has damaged water passage system. So the only solution is to pump out water from these areas," Jain explained.
For long term solution to solve water-logging issue, the government has asked IIT-Delhi to conduct a study on water drainage system of the city but is waiting for their recommendation.
"IIT Delhi is conducting a study on water drainage system of Delhi for last two and half years and they have demanded one more year to complete it. It is expected that they will come out with their recommendation to solve the issue," he said.
However, IIT Delhi was supposed to submit its report within a year but the project got delayed. The Minister has asked the institute to summit its finding as soon as possible.
Delhi government also claims that PWD has cleaned entire 1,260 kilometre-long stretch falling under its jurisdiction.
"We cleaned all the roads and drainage before the monsoon. There are some areas where cleaning work was carried out few months back so we are again cleaning those areas," Jain said.
The PWD Minister said there are many drains which were never been cleaned before so the department is trying to revive the city's drainage system.
"MCD claims that they have cleaned 95 per cent of roads which are under its jurisdiction," Jain said.
"PWD had repaired all the potholes of Delhi from May 1-21 but as during the monsoon chances of roads getting damaged is high so I have asked the department to carry out repair work side by side," he said.
Meanwhile, on social media, people have been posting pictures of the water logged streets and complaining about the unpreparedness of the government to cope with the rains.
No no, this isn't the Niagara Falls.This is the Golf Course Road in the millennium city Gurgaon after overnight rains pic.twitter.com/MevlprOChU
— Rajesh Kalra (@rajeshkalra) July 9, 2015Three cities, all beset by the same problem. Mumbai, Greater Delhi, Kolkata: none of them even remotely capable of coping with the rains.
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) July 10, 2015This HAS to be the heaviest downpour in Delhi in several years!!!!
— Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) July 10, 2015Man Swept Away In Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, a man riding his motorbike was swept away in an over-flowing stream near a chak-dam at Gotara-Takelan on Friday.
The body of Kesari alias Beerbal (35) was recovered with his bike near the dam, a district official said.
Sikar recorded 10 cm of rainfall since morning with torrential rains affecting normal life and vehicular traffic in the district, he said.
A few low-lying areas in Sikar are still inundated but there is no danger to life as Disaster Management and Relief teams are working round the clock to pump out the rainy water, he said.
Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rains were recorded in most parts in last 24 hours with Phagi recording rainfall of 10 cm followed by Lunkaransar 9, Mojamabad 8, Jayal 7, Chirawa 6, Manohar Thana 5, Elera 4, Bansur 3, and 1-2 cms at many places in Rajasthan.
The desert districts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Churu are still waiting for adequate rains, a MeT report said.
Jaipur has cloudy skies and has recorded light rainfall of 1.3 mm since last night followed by Pilani at 1.1 mm since 8 AM.
This monsoon trend will continue during the weekend in the state, a forecast said.
Rains Bring Cheer To Haryana, Punjab Farmers
The first widespread monsoon rains today lashed vast swathes of Haryana and Punjab, bringing cheers to the farmers and giving relief to the people from the sultry weather conditions.
Maximum temperatures dropped sharply after rains lashed the region, MeT Department report said here.
Chandigarh was lashed by heavy showers in the late afternoon (30 mm) and the Union Territory's maximum settled at 30.4 degrees Celsius, down four notches than normal.
In Haryana, Rewari, Gurgaon, Ambala, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Hisar, Narnaul, Sonipat and Karnal, were among other places to be lashed by rains.
Ambala, which received 10 mm of rains, recorded a high of 30.7 degrees Celsius, down four notches than normal.
Bhiwani received a heavy downpour at 17 mm and the maximum there settled at 29.4 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal.
Hisar recorded a high of 31.5 degrees Celsius, down three notches while Narnaul had a pleasant day at 28 degrees Celsius, nine degrees below normal.
Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Ropar and Hoshiarpur were also lashed by rains.
Amritsar's maximum settled at 32.2 degrees Celsius, down three notches while Ludhiana, which received a heavy downpour at 61 mm, recorded a high of 32.3 degrees Celsius, also three below normal.
Patiala registered a maximum temperature of 30.5 degrees Celsius, down by three notches.
The MeT has forecast that moderate to rather heavy rains/ thunder showers would occur at many places in the two states including Chandigarh over the next few days.
Meanwhile, the heavy monsoon rains brought cheers on the face of farmers of the two leading agrarian states. The current wet spell is considered beneficial for paddy sowing.
With inputs from Agencies
Like Us On Facebook | 
Follow Us On Twitter | 
Contact HuffPost India