Heavy Rain Drenches Delhi-NCR; Noida Schools to Remain Shut on Friday, Gurugram Urges for WFH
Corporate and private offices in Gurugram have been advised to encourage their employees to work from home on Friday, due to a heavy rainfall prediction that could lead to waterlogging and traffic congestion in the city. Educational institutions have also been asked to stay closed even as excess rain lashed the Delhi-NCR on Thursday.
Gurugram’s disaster management authority issued an advisory dated September 22, asking offices to urge their employees to work from home so that there is no traffic congestion on the roads and civic works could be carried out without a hitch. Government and private schools in Noida and Greater Noida under Gautam Buddh Nagar district will also stay closed for students up to Class VII.
In Delhi, too, traffic police took to Twitter to guide commuters about the traffic situation while the weather department has issued a ‘yellow’ alert in the national capital for Friday, cautioning people about moderate rain at most places.
Traffic crawls in Gurugram
Delhi-NCR witnessed waterlogging in numerous areas leading to long traffic snarls as police struggled to decongest roads. “Due to continuous heavy rainfall in Gurugram, there is waterlogging at some places and the traffic is moving at a slow speed. Therefore, we request all of you that you should come out of the house only when necessary,” read an advisory by traffic police on its official Twitter handle.
According to police in Gurugram, there was massive waterlogging and traffic at a snail’s pace on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway, Signature Tower Flyover and Hero Honda Chowk. Over 1,000 traffic police personnel were deployed soon after it started raining in the morning.
Gurugram received 54 mm rainfall, with Wazirabad receiving the maximum at 60 mm, as per government data. Though police claimed that they managed to deal with traffic jams, commuters faced a tough time travelling.
Jagdish Ahlawat, who works at a private company, said he was stuck for half an hour at one location due to waterlogging. “The stretch between Hero Honda Chowk and Narsinghpur service lane was affected the most on Thursday. I had taken the service lane and my car was stuck in the water,” said Jitender Dhillon, a resident of Sector 31.
Road cave-in, trees uprooted in Delhi
In the national capital, a road caved in while there were numerous complaints of waterlogging and uprooting of trees due to an incessant spell of light to moderate rain. The traffic situation was also poor as rains lashed the city on the second consecutive day.
Continuous downpour caused congestion on key intersections and stretches, sending the traffic haywire. Rains also led to a sharp spike in cab and autorickshaw fares. “Traffic is affected on the carriageway from Mahipal Pur red light towards Mehrauli due to waterlogging. Traffic is affected on Phirni Road and Tooda Mandi red light, Najafgarh due to waterlogging,” the traffic police in Delhi tweeted. “Kindly avoid travelling on Mahatma Gandhi Marg from Moti Bagh Junction towards Dhaula Kuan due to waterlogging near Shanti Niketan,” it said in another tweet.
The MCD received three complaints of waterlogging from Fatehpur Beri, Sangam Vihar, Tikri Kala village, and seven complaints related to uprooted trees. The Delhi Traffic Police helpline said it received 23 calls in all.
A senior police officer said traffic was heavy on the stretch from Dhaula Kuan to Gurugram and near Satya Niketan in southwest Delhi. A portion of a road caved in near Satya Niketan and only two lanes of the four are functional due to which heavy traffic was reported on the stretch, the officer said. Commuters also took to the microblogging site to complain about the traffic situation.
“Massive Traffic jam from Hamdard Nagar to Ambedkar Nagar Bus Depot,” a Twitter user said, while another said there was “no traffic police” to guide motorists.
Fresh spells of rain just before monsoon withdrawal will help cover a large deficit (46 per cent till September 22 morning) in the NCR to an extent, according to the MeT.
The weather department said this would also keep the air clean and temperature in check. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 23.8 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, seven notches below normal. The 24-hour average AQI settled at 66 (satisfactory category) at 4 pm, improving from 109 on Wednesday.
(With PTI inputs)
