New Delhi, July 10:
Torrential monsoon rains unleashed widespread destruction across several parts of the country on Thursday, inundating roads, uprooting trees, damaging property and disrupting normal life, while authorities scrambled to restore normalcy amid forecasts of more rain.
Roads and residential areas remained submerged in several cities, with commuters wading through knee-deep water and traffic crawling on major roads and highways. Trees uprooted by strong winds blocked roads at several places, while flooding disrupted vehicular movement and damaged houses.
Rescue operations also continued at the site of a building that collapsed a day earlier at a waste-to-energy plant in Maharashtra’s Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune after a massive mound of garbage gave way due to heavy rain.
One body was recovered on Thursday, while around eight people are still feared trapped under the debris. Nine people have been rescued so far.
Delhi witnessed one of its heaviest spells of rain this season, with widespread waterlogging, uprooted trees and traffic snarls throwing life out of gear.
The India Meteorological Department issued a ‘red’ alert for the day as the Safdarjung, the capital’s base weather station, recorded 72.6 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours that ended at 8.30 am.
Waterlogging was reported from Vikas Marg, parts of east Delhi, New Delhi railway station, Munirka, Sadar Bazar, and Dwarka. Traffic crawled on the Delhi-Noida Expressway. In parts of Jangpura, pedestrians and vehicles waded through knee-high water. Two-wheeler riders were seen pushing their vehicles through inundated streets.
Several commuters and residents took to social media to share their ordeal.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inspected the drainage arrangements in Shalimar Village in her assembly constituency and directed officials to ensure proper water drainage, while Public Works Department (PWD) minister Parvesh Sahib Singh also visited the PWD’s control at ITO to review the dewatering arrangements and said that in most cases the stagnant water was removed and the “situation is better than in previous years”.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said it has cleared 57,000 metric tonnes (MT) of silt from stormwater drains till now and announced that a dedicated 24/7 helpline is also being set up for waterlogging-related complaints.
In neighbouring Gurugram, a section of the balcony of a luxury apartment complex collapsed on a rain-soaked Thursday morning, though no injuries were reported.
Among other parts of the national capital region, widespread waterlogging and traffic disruptions were reported from Noida, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur and Faridabad.
In Noida, areas including Sectors 16, 33, 12, 62 and parts of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway were inundated, leaving vehicles stranded and forcing commuters to wade through flooded roads.
Severe waterlogging near the Ghazipur border on National Highway-9 triggered long traffic snarls on the Delhi-Ghaziabad route.
The Ghaziabad district administration declared a holiday in government schools as authorities grappled with rain-induced disruption.