Heavy rain battered Delhi on Friday, bringing large parts of the national capital to a standstill as major roads went under water, traffic came to a crawl and residential colonies were inundated. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert, warning of more heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning.
Waterlogging was reported across several parts of the city, including Mehrauli-Badarpur (MB) Road, Mahipalpur, Minto Road, ITO, Shakarpur, Chhatarpur and around the Red Fort, leaving commuters stranded for hours and disrupting normal life.
One of the worst-hit stretches was the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road near Vayusena Bad (Air Force Station), where water levels rose to nearly four feet.
Traffic moved at a snail's pace between Khanpur and Okhla Mor, while roads in Sangam Vihar, Deoli and Ambedkar Nagar also remained submerged. Waterlogging at Mahipalpur T-Point disrupted traffic towards the airport, Gurugram, Chhatarpur and Vasant Vihar, with commuters reporting long delays on several arterial roads, including Pusa Road.
Visuals from Chhatarpur showed schoolchildren wading through knee-deep water as vehicles struggled through flooded roads. Water also entered the Delhi Police's Narcotics office in south Delhi.
The rain flooded several residential neighbourhoods, particularly in Fatehpur Beri's Valmiki Basti, where residents waded through waist-deep water.
Schoolchildren unable to cross submerged lanes were carried by locals on a large blue plastic sheet used as a makeshift raft. Several homes were inundated, damaging food stocks and household belongings.
Residents blamed poor drainage infrastructure for the recurring flooding.
In east Delhi's Shakarpur and neighbouring Mandawali, e-rickshaw drivers said submerged potholes and overflowing drains had made roads hazardous, resulting in several accidents and a sharp fall in earnings.
"There are many difficulties. Potholes get submerged and sewer pits cannot be seen. At least three or four vehicles have overturned today, including e-rickshaws, scooters and motorcycles," an e-rickshaw driver told PTI.
Alleging that drains were poorly designed and clogged with debris, he said rainwater failed to drain after every spell.
"Our earnings have fallen sharply. If we earlier earned Rs 600 in a day, now we earn Rs 200 or Rs 300. Water enters the battery. If an e-rickshaw overturns, especially one with a lithium battery, the loss can be Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000," he said.
Authorities received at least 67 rain-related complaints, including waterlogging, fallen trees and power outages.
According to the MCD's Central Control Room, tree-fall incidents were reported from Keshavpuram, South, Central, West and Civil Lines zones.
The NDMC received 34 complaints, including 15 cases of waterlogging, five incidents of fallen trees and 14 power outages, while the Public Works Department logged 22 complaints related to waterlogging.
Flooded locations within the NDMC area included Lodhi Road, Sunehari Bagh Road, RK Ashram Marg, Minto Road Bridge, Rajiv Chowk Metro, Safdarjung Flyover, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Moti Bagh, Talkatora Garden, Race Course Road and Sarojini Nagar.
The widespread flooding sparked a political war of words, with the Delhi Congress accusing the BJP-led Centre, the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi of failing to prevent waterlogging.
Senior Congress leader and former MLA Mukesh Sharma alleged that desilting of drains existed only on paper.
"There is hardly any road in Delhi -- whether in densely populated colonies, residential localities, villages or urban areas -- that is free from waterlogging. The government's repeated claims that Delhi would remain free from waterlogging have proved to be completely hollow," he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in a post on X, said the BJP "never tires of taking credit" for resolving waterlogging at Minto Bridge while ignoring flooding elsewhere in the city.
There was no immediate response from the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government to the opposition's allegations.
The IMD said moderate rain at many places and heavy rain at isolated locations, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, was likely over the next few hours.
Among the highest rainfall recorded between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm were Pushp Vihar (111.5 mm), Chhatarpur (104.5 mm), Ayanagar (87.4 mm), Palam (73.5 mm), Janakpuri (68 mm), Jharoda Kalan (67 mm), Pusa (59.5 mm) and Safdarjung (57.3 mm).
According to IMD data, Delhi received 127 mm of rainfall during the first week of August, making it the wettest first week of the month since 2011.
(With inputs from PTI)
