Few hours of rain paralyses national capital

Heavy rains plunged the city into chaos as widespread waterlogging, traffic jams and uprooted trees disrupted daily life with commuters trapped in grinding traffic and roads disappeared under sheets of water.

The city woke to scenes of chaos – uprooted trees blocking key arteries, knee-deep water submerging major roads and desperate residents scrambling to navigate their way through the gridlock.

PWD employees clear a drain after the rain in New Delhi on Friday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Office-goers, school buses and emergency vehicles crawled through jammed intersections as the Capital’s infrastructure buckled under just a few hours of rain.

From Dwarka Underpass and South Extension to RK Puram, ITO, and Minto Road, waterlogging turned major routes into urban rivers. People shared grim footage of submerged cars and commuters wading through filthy water on social media. “It’s like the city has drowned,” a post read.

In East Delhi, a truck overturned near the Ghazipur flower market around 6 am, triggering a four-km-long traffic jam on the NH-24. The Traffic Police issued an advisory, warning drivers to avoid the stretch between Akshardham and Ghaziabad. Two trucks were stranded for hours in North Delhi’s Azad Market underpass. The vehicles were later removed with the help of a crane. Bhairon Marg and Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road became choke points as rainwater gushed into underpasses and onto flyovers.

Delhi