Delhi brakes down, underpasses are worst hit

NEW DELHI: Traffic was thrown out of gear across the city on Thursday after heavy rains in the morning. Vehicles were stuck or unable to cross the deluged underpasses, their way forward was blocked by fallen trees or the traffic was too slow due to flooding for comfortable driving. Moreover, numerous trucks, buses and cars broke down. A towing service in Delhi-NCR confirmed receiving over 250 SOSes.
Delhi Traffic Police officers said that 68 major locations and 308 other places faced congestion due severe waterlogging. The figures suggested a higher trend compared with the previous year. Traffic police personnel were seen standing in knee-deep water at several places, trying their best to streamline traffic but the situation seemed beyond their control.
The interconnected nature of Delhi's areas, with numerous underpasses and flyovers, created a domino effect and the arterial roads were gridlocked for lengthy periods. The flooded Okhla underpass caused congestion on both the carriageways from Kalindi Kunj towards Crowne Plaza and vice-versa, impacting Nehru Place, Chittaranjan Park, Sarita Vihar and Jasola Vihar. Similarly, waterlogging under the Dhaula Kuan flyover affected roads from Naraina towards Moti Bagh and vice-versa, as well as Chanakyapuri, South Campus and Delhi Cantonment.
For a couple of years, Minto Bridge was showcased as progress after the otherwise perennially submerged road stretch remained unaffected by the rains in the past two seasons. On Thursday, however, it went under again, causing severe inconvenience to motorists to or from Kamla Market towards Connaught Place, ITO and New Delhi Railway Station. Indraprastha Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Vikas Marg were affected due to waterlogging and vehicle breakdowns at intersection below Tilak Bridge.
Aurobindo Marg experienced severe traffic jams on both its carriageways from INA towards AIIMS and vice-versa due to waterlogging under the AIIMS flyover. South Extension, Defence Colony, Bhikaji Cama Place and Green Park were consequently affected by the bottleneck effect.
Outer Ring Road was similarly jammed on both the carriageways between Shanti Van and ISBT due to waterlogging near Salimgarh Fort and Nigambodh Ghat. Vir Banda Bairagi Marg was also impacted by waterlogging at the Azad Market underpass.
Citizens sought help on social media, especially those who were stuck for more than three hours near Dwarka Sector 9. East Delhi residents also had a harrowing time with heavy traffic jams at Geeta Colony Ring Road. People also reported massive traffic jams on NH-48, grumbling that they had to spend over an hour on a 4km-stretch between Gurgaon-Delhi border and Mahipalpur.
The closure of the Pragati Maidan tunnel caused a major gridlock on Mathura Road and adjacent thoroughfares. Further down, near Tughlaqabad metro station, waterlogging halted traffic for a long time on the way from Badarpur to Sarita Vihar.
The Dwarka Expressway towards Police Station Sector 23 was also affected. Traffic was impacted on both sides of the road taking motorists from Akshardham to Ghaziabad and in the opposite direction due to the roundabout at Murga Mandi, Ghazipur, being flooded.
A Mayur Vihar resident travelling to Parliament House was exasperated by a 3-hour journey for one that usually takes only 45 minutes because of congestion on the Nizamuddin bridge. The motorist resident noted that truck breakdowns and the absence of traffic police officers contributed to the problem. Another commuter had to return home halfway to work due to the road chaos between Akshardham and ITO bridge. "Cars returning and mismanagement of traffic caused severe problems," the frustrated individual said. "Things were terrible in Geeta Colony."