New Delhi: Widespread rain continued on Saturday in north India, bringing the mercury down even as the waterlogging created inconvenience. Rain played spoilsport for all those who were planning to go out to eat or planning a weekend escape.Â
Delhi continued to reel under massive traffic jams due to waterlogging as heavy rains lashed the city for second consecutive day flooding several arterial roads and leaving commuters stranded for hours while exposing civic bodies’ lack of preparedness to deal with the perennial problem.
The met office said the city received a total of around 100 mm of rains in the last three days out of which 93.8 mm of rainfall, the highest of season, was recorded since 5:30 PM yesterday.
It said the city is likely to receive more rains in the next couple of days.
Traffic snarls were reported from many parts of the city, including Dhaula Kuan, Ashram, Nehru Place, Panchsheel, Mahipalpur near the Indira Gandhi International airport and ITO junction, according to Delhi Traffic police.
In several residential colonies, drains were reportedly choked and roads caved in.
On Friday, scattered rainfall across the National Capital Region led to a fall in temperature in Delhi. The maximum temperature settled at 27.9 degrees Celsius, seven notches below season’s average, the lowest in July in the last 12 years.
After early morning showers on Saturday, frequent spells of rains gave nightmare to motorists who crawled on the flooded roads. Arterial roads were choked too.
The weatherman had predicted more rains for Saturday. “The skies will generally be cloudy. Rain or thundershowers would occur in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to settle at 32 and 23 degrees respectively,” the weatherman said.
Vehicular movement was slow in Amar Colony, Okhla, Wazirabad areas and on National Highway 8 even as many areas in east Delhi were virtually under water.
The minimum temperature was recorded a notch below normal at 26.2 degrees Celsius, a MeT department official said.
“Due to intermittent rains, the maximum temperature settled at at 27.9 degrees Celsius, lowest in month of July since July, 2003, when the maximum temperature had plunged to 27.8 degrees Celsius,” said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Director BP Yadav.
The Safdarjung observatory, the official reading for the city, received 7.9 mm rainfall from 8.30 am till 5.30 pm whereas areas under Palam, Ridge, Ayanagar and Lodhi road recorded 14 mm, 7.9 mm, 39.7 mm and 8.0 mm rainfall respectively in the same period.
Humidity in air oscillated between 95% and 78%. Due to heavy, sporadic rain in the last 5 days, Delhi has received close to 50 mm rainfall with forecast of more rain over the weekend.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 33.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 25.2 degrees Celsius.
Helpline Launched
Delhi government launched a helpline number by setting up a 24X7 centralised control room to register complaints about water logging in the city.
The move came after two days of rain exposed poor drainage system of the city, causing knee-deep waterlogging in some areas and heavy traffic jam across the national capital.
“Water drainage system is not adequate in the city. There is 160 such points which are prone to waterlogging. In last few days, I held a meeting with PWD department and instructed them to ensure that water is pumped out from the street as soon as possible,” PWD minister Satyendra Jain said.
Government claims that it has installed 150 mobile teams to pump out the water.
“Water draining system cannot be improved immediately but as soon we will get information of any water-logging a team will be sent which will try to pump out water from the area.
“There are many points where waterlogging will happen. So to deal with it we are installing 150 mobile water pumps,” Jain said.
Government’s centralised helpline number is 1800118595 where residents can call and register their complaints about water-logging.
PWD claims that mobile pumps will be installed to ensure removal of water and have also stationed permanent pumps at low inclined areas.
“Buildings have come up at natural drainage system which has damaged water passage system. So the only solution is to pump out water from these areas,” Jain explained.
For long term solution to solve water-logging issue, the government has asked IIT-Delhi to conduct a study on water drainage system of the city but is waiting for their recommendation.
“IIT Delhi is conducting a study on water drainage system of Delhi for last two and half years and they have demanded one more year to complete it. It is expected that they will come out with their recommendation to solve the issue,” he said.
However, IIT Delhi was supposed to submit its report within a year but the project got delayed. The Minister has asked the institute to submit its finding as soon as possible.
Too Social
Meanwhile, busy roads gave people time to whip out phones, take a photo and upload it on social media. People have been posting pictures of the water logged streets and complaining about the unpreparedness of the government to cope with the rains.
Useful tips
These are the hacks that will help you stay safe;
1.     Store water and drink only clean water,
2.     Drink plenty of water in this humid weather,
3.     Say no to street food. Relish yummy bhajiyas, but help yourself and cook. Don’t rely on the street stalls,
4.     Keep your environment clean,
5.     Don’t forget to carry your umbrella or raincoat,
6.     Carry an extra pair of clothes, in case if you get drenched,
7.     Wash your hands properly,
8.     Wear rubber shoes, so that you can keep your feet clean and also it will not let you slip.
9.     Keep cold, cough medicines ready,
10. Make eucalyptus oil your best friend