As heavy rain hammered the capital, Delhi's Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered all government officers off Sunday and directed them to be on the ground to inspect problem areas. The ministers and mayors, too, have been asked to inspect their areas as heavy rain has caused widespread waterlogging in many regions, resulting in traffic jams. PWD Minister Atishi will also visit waterlogged areas on the outskirts of Delhi today. She was expected to visit the Tilak Bridge area at 12:50 p.m.
On Saturday, Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Delhi had received 126 mm of rainfall. 15% of the Monsoon season's rainfall happened within just 12 hours. Waterlogging caused a lot of problems for people. Today, all the ministers and the mayor of Delhi will inspect the problem areas. Instructions have been given to officials of all departments to cancel their Sunday holiday and be present on the ground. The first very heavy rain and the highest in a single day in 20 years caused waterlogging, damaging vehicles, and causing traffic congestion in several regions. The Safdarjung Observatory, the city's primary weather station, recorded 126.1 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 PM, the highest since the 24-hour rainfall of 133.4 mm on July 10, 2003, according to a senior IMD official.
On July 21, 1958, the city recorded an all-time high of 266.2 mm. The first heavy rain was recorded on Saturday, the first heavy spell of the season. The Met office forecast a generally cloudy sky with moderate to heavy rain for Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to drop below 30°C and 24°C, respectively.
Light to moderate intensity rain would continue over many places of Delhi and NCR, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Assandh, Safidon, Meham, Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Kosali, Sohana, Rewari Haryana, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Kosali, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Gohana, Gannaur, The Met Office said in a tweet.
Several vehicles were damaged in Delhi's Kalkaji area yesterday after a portion of a Deshbandhu College wall collapsed during heavy rains. The rain and heavy winds uprooted several trees, one of which fell on a car in Delhi's East of Kailash area. Many commuters faced difficulties in reaching their destinations due to the rain. Waterlogging at Connaught Place, one of the most important commercial and business centres in Delhi, caused problems for pedestrians and shopkeepers.
The PWD said it received 15 complains of waterlogging since morning. Besides these, the department also received complaints about waterlogging on other stretches that are under the MCD or other agencies. The road around the campus of Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College in Delhi University's north campus witnessed waterlogging, causing inconvenience to commuters, a PWD official said.