Heavy early morning showers left one dead and several areas in the Capital waterlogged on Sunday. The area under the Minto Bridge, that is infamous for flooding every time the city receives heavy rain, saw a DTC bus getting stranded as well.
A 56-year-old man drowned while trying to manoeuvre his tempo through the waterlogged underpass at Minto Road on Sunday morning, said a senior police officer.
The officer said that Kundan Kumar, a native of Uttarakhand, used to drive a tempo and ferry goods from railway station to other places. On Sunday morning when he was crossing the underpass towards Connaught Place, his tempo got stuck on waterlogged underpass. He tried to manoeuvre his vehicle through the underpass, but, apparently, could not succeed.
“It appears that he died of drowning. No external injury marks on his person. Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of Cr. PC are under way. He is survived by wife and two daughters,” added the officer.
A cluster of homes at the Anna Nagar slum near ITO were swept away as a drain alongside overflowed.
Several roads remained waterlogged till afternoon and children were seen swimming on the streets.
The MeT Department that had forecast rain for Sunday said that the city received 74.8 mm rainfall till 8.30 a.m. on Sunday. Lodhi Road, Palam and Ayanagar weather stations recorded 86 mm, 81.2 mm, 16.9 mm and 12.2 mm rainfall, respectively. This is the heaviest rainfall of the season, it added. The forecast shows that more rain is expected over the next few days
The Delhi Traffic Police since morning has been posting updates on its Twitter account asking people to avoid areas where there is heavy water-logging. It said that traffic jams had been reported from Azadpur to Mukarba Chowk, Yashwant Place to Ashoka Road, at Ring Road, Bhairon Road, and near Mundka metro station due to heavy waterlogging.
The New Delhi Traders’ Association hit out at the New Delhi Municipal Corporation for failing to upgrade drainage and prepare for pumping excess water at areas around Minto Road. The association shared videos of water entering shops in the outer circle of Connaught Place and flooding at the veranda of the iconic Regal Cinema building as well.
PTI adds:
Many shanties collapsed and low-lying areas were inundated in the heavy rains on Sunday.
Many residents shared on social media platforms videos and pictures of rainwater gushing into their houses and vehicles wading through waterlogged roads.
A spate of incidents were reported in the national capital as several areas were waterlogged.
Some shanties collapsed near the WHO building in Anna Nagar on Sunday morning. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. A small NDRF team was sent to Anna Nagar near ITO to take stock of the situation.
According to officials, waterlogging was reported at several places like Minto Road and under the railway bridge, both carriageways of GTK Depot, Azadpur underpass, Guru Nanak Chowk on Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, South Avenue Road and Pul Prahladpur underpass on M B Road.
