NEW DELHI: Heavy rain lashed Delhi on Friday morning, leaving several areas of the national capital submerged and paralysing vehicular movement across key stretches. The downpour led to severe waterlogging on arterial roads, with commuters struggling through inundated streets, and some locals even wading and swimming through knee-deep water.
According to officials, traffic was thrown out of gear at multiple locations, including NH-24 in East Delhi and the Pragati Maidan underpass, which were heavily waterlogged. Major stretches such as the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) Flyway, Mathura Road, Vikas Marg, ISBT, Geeta Colony and Rajaram Kohli Marg witnessed long traffic snarls as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace.
A particularly long queue of vehicles was reported between Badarpur and Ashram, causing severe inconvenience to office-goers and school buses. Areas such as West Vinod Nagar, Patparganj, Mayur Vihar, Sangam Vihar and the vicinity of AIIMS were among the localities that bore the brunt of waterlogging.
The Delhi Traffic Police said its teams were deployed at multiple points to manage the situation.
“Due to rain and waterlogging in some pockets, traffic movement was slow. Our personnel have been deployed to streamline the situation and assist commuters,” an officer said.
As residents grappled with the chaos, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) mounted a sharp attack on the Delhi government, alleging corruption in desilting works meant to prevent such flooding.
AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video from Patparganj on social media platform X, accusing the government of failing to even maintain appearances.
“They think the rainy season will end and the trouble will be averted. Delhi residents fear this BJP government will push the city back in every sector,” he charged.
Bharadwaj also directly questioned the CM over desilting contracts and audit reports.
“Has there been corruption in desilting? Why are you running away from a third-party audit of the work? If sludge has been removed and contractors paid properly, then what is there to fear?” he asked.
Leader of Opposition Atishi also took to social media, posting videos from flooded stretches in Patparganj and Geeta Colony. She blamed the government’s “four-engine” administration saying, “In just a short spell of rain, Delhi’s roads and streets are turning into rivers.CM Rekha Gupta, is this your ‘Proper Management’?”
Over 250 flights hit as airlines issue advisory
The rain and subsequent waterlogging caused delays in nearly 250 departures and arrivals at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The average delay was recorded at around 30 minutes, airport officials said.
The impact of the weather became more pronounced after 9 am, when departure boards showed a series of delayed flights across terminals.
“The average delay of affected flights was about half an hour, though some departures were pushed back by longer durations,” an airport official said.
Passengers also faced traffic snarls on arterial routes leading to the airport. Vehicles moving through Dhaula Kuan and RK Puram reported long queues, while stretches near Ulaanbaatar Road were briefly waterlogged.
Airlines issued advisories throughout the morning urging passengers to plan their travel with the city’s weather and traffic situation in mind. IndiGo issued a statement saying,
“Delhi’s traffic has been badly affected due to heavy rains. Passengers are advised to plan their travel in advance and keep checking flight-related updates on our website or mobile app.”
The airline also assured that its airport staff were available round the clock to assist travellers. Air India and SpiceJet issued similar advisories on social media platforms, asking passengers to check status of their flights.