Heavy monsoon rain triggers waterlogging, traffic disruption

New Delhi

Parts of Delhi witnessed severe waterlogging and traffic snarls on Thursday following the season’s first major spell of monsoon rain that began late Wednesday night and continued into the early hours of Thursday.

Najafgarh recorded the highest rain at 105.5 mm in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday. The Safdarjung weather station, considered Delhi’s representative observatory, logged 20.5 mm during the same period, and 17.1 mm between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on Thursday. Other stations also reported significant rain: Pusa received 82 mm and 5.5 mm, while Palam recorded 59.8 mm and 18.1 mm during the same intervals.

Wet days ahead

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rain across the Capital till July 16. The rains led to widespread waterlogging complaints. The Delhi government’s monitoring rooms received over 50 calls from areas including Patel Nagar, Pitampura, Greater Kailash II, Mathura Road, Okhla, Jasola, Rajghat, and Rohini Sector 7. Waterlogging was also reported from the Zakhira underpass, Jhilmil underpass, Burari, Rajghat, ITO, and New Friends Colony, according to a Delhi government official.

Delhi Police’s traffic wing issued multiple alerts on the social media platform X. “Traffic is affected in both carriageways from Nangloi towards Mundka and vice versa on Rohtak Road due to waterlogging,” said one post. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the government of failing to prevent waterlogging. “The L-G, CM, and Ministers were busy staging photo ops while drains remained choked. Their promise that Delhi won’t flood was a cruel joke,” said the party’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta hit back, saying the government was “solving the backlogs of the last 27 years”. She claimed significant progress, noting that “no waterlogging was reported at high-risk locations like Minto Road and ITO junction”. Ms. Gupta directed departments to adopt city-wide, time-bound measures to mitigate monsoon-related disruptions.