Rain brings relief to Delhiites from heat, spells traffic chaos

Rain lashed parts of Delhi on Thursday, bringing much-needed respite from the intense heat. However, it also caused waterlogging and traffic jams at several locations.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions are conducive for the onset of south-west monsoon on time. “The usual date for the onset of the monsoon is June 29. Conditions are likely to become favourable for further advance of it into Delhi in next two-three days,” it said in a statement.

The city received 5.3 mm of rainfall, which brought down the maximum temperature from 39 degrees Celsius recorded the previous day to 35.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday, two notches below normal. The minimum temperature also fell from 31.6 degrees Celsius to 28.6 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has predicted “heavy” to “very heavy” rainfall in Delhi over the weekend.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the waterlogging, saying it can’t escape responsibility as the party is in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as well.

“Those [AAP] who used to curse the MCD earlier for all civic problems are now themselves ruling it and they cannot make the excuse that they are powerless. The AAP government is least concerned about Delhi people,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.

The BJP leader said the city has over 700 drains that needed to be desilted before monsoon. “We have information that only around 150 have been cleaned so far,” Mr. Sachdeva said.

However, an MCD official said they have been cleaning drains on a war footing keeping the rainy season in mind.

The official said Mayor Shelly Oberoi, in a meeting to discuss monsoon preparedness on June 18, had directed officials to focus on timely cleaning of drains, identification of waterlogging-prone areas and the formation of teams under the ‘Monsoon Action Plan’.

Meanwhile, a New Delhi Municipal Council official said they have set up six control rooms equipped with over 160 pumps to remove water from roads in Lutyens’ Delhi. He said CCTV cameras have also been installed at all waterlogging-prone areas.