Rain brings relief to Delhi, traffic out of gear

A fresh spell of rain brought relief to the humid weather in the national capital on Thursday. Traffic, however, was thrown out of gear on major roads.

According to a MeT official, Delhi recorded the highest rainfall this monsoon. “The city recorded 41.2 mm of rain at 8:30 pm. More rainfall is expected in the next 48 hours. Generally, the sky will be cloudy tomorrow,” the official said.

The rain which started at 5 pm continued till 8:30 pm. 

The city recorded a minimum temperature at 28.9 degree Celsius, which is two degrees above normal. The maximum temperature for the day was 36.8 degree Celsius.

“On Friday, the maximum temperature is expected to drop to 34 degree Celsius and the minimum to 28 degree Celsius,” said the MeT official.

Traffic came to a halt on major arterial roads like Rajiv Chowk, ITO, Nehru Place, Aurobindo Marg, Panchkuian Marg, Ring Road, Vikas Marg, Model Town and Dhaula Kuan among others. “I was stuck in my car near the New Delhi Metro station for 45 minutes. There was chaos at the sudden spell of rain and zero traffic management,” said Reshmi Gupta, an MCD official.

Some people even chose to park their private vehicles near office and take the Metro to reach home early.

“I thought it would be the best option to take the Metro as my colleagues called me up to say traffic was stalled at Nehru Place for almost an hour. I realised it would take me almost two hours to reach my home in Patparganj if I drive,” said Rohan Bhardwaj.

Meanwhile, escalators stopped working at most Metro stations due to the rains which caused  huge inconvenience to the elderly.

“Every time there is rain, I have to climb the entire flight of steps. Also, rickshaw pullers charge a bomb whenever it rains. I paid Rs 50 today for a distance of a km,” said a 65-year-old woman at Jhandewalan Metro station.