1 Dead after Heavy Rains Flood Delhi Roads, Traffic Jams Witnessed as Waterlogging Adds to Woes

Waterlogging in several areas of the national capital due to heavy rains affected movement of traffic in the city on Sunday, officials said. A 56-year-old man died allegedly due to drowning after his mini-truck was submerged in water under the Minto Bridge in Delhi's Barakhamba area.

The man, identified as Kundan Kumar, was a resident of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. He was driving a Tata Ace from the New Delhi Railway Station to Connaught Place when he got stuck in the waterlogged area, they said.

While he was trying to manoeuvre his vehicle through the waterlogged underpass, Kumar got stuck and allegedly died due to drowning, said a senior police officer. He used to drive the vehicle, owned by his cousin Pritam, to transport goods, police said.

Kumar used to live near a taxi stand in Shankar Market area and is survived by his wife and two daughters, they said. His body has been shifted to a mortuary at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital wherein it will be handed over to his family after post-mortem.

Police said they suspected that he died due to drowning since no external injury marks were found on his body. Inquest proceedings have been initiated in this regard, they said.

Several houses have also been washed away in Anna Colony near ITO as heavy rainfall resulted in the sewage water being washed out.

The Delhi Traffic Police posted alerts on Twitter to inform commuters about waterlogged roads.

Delhi received its first spell of heavy rains this morning which inundated low-lying areas. Several stretches where construction work is going on also reported waterlogging.

Many residents shared on social media videos and pictures of rainwater gushing into their houses and vehicles wading through waterlogged roads.

Traffic slowed down from Azadpur to Mukarba Chowk due to waterlogging near GTK Depot, according to police.

Traffic snarls were also reported at Minto Road, Mathura Road, Outer Ring Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road and Ashram Chowk.

"Traffic is affected from Yashwant Place to Ashoka Road due to water logging," the Delhi Traffic Police said in a series of alerts posted on Twitter.

"Traffic is affected on Ring Road under Dhaula Kuan Flyover, GGP PDR road (both carriageways) and near Mundka Metro station (both carriageways) due to water logging," it said.

Meanwhile, a DTC bus and two auto-rickshaws were stuck at the Minto Bridge underpass due to waterlogging, following which three people were rescued, Delhi Fire Service officials said.

A call regarding the stranded vehicles at the Minto Bridge underpass was received around 7.54 am. A team from the Delhi Fire Service was rushed to the spot for rescue work, Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service, said.

"A DTC bus and two autos were trapped due to water-logging. The driver and conductor of the bus and an auto driver were safely rescued by our personnel. There was no passenger in the bus," he said.

The fire service personnel used a ladder to bridge the gap from a footpath and the low floor bus that was almost submerged at the heavily waterlogged underpass, to rescue the stranded.

Waterlogging at the concave railway underpass (Minto Bridge) during the rainy season is a recurring issue. Incidents of vehicles getting stuck and people being rescued have been reported in the past as well.

Movement of traffic has also been affected at W point, Ramcharan Aggarwal Chowk and from Ring Road towards Bhairon Road due to waterlogging, the police informed commuters.(With inputs from PTI)