Strong winds, accompanied by heavy rain, battered Delhi-NCR on Monday, leading to the death of three people. The thunderstorm uprooted several trees, disrupted air and road traffic and also led to power outages in different parts of Delhi.
The historic Jama Masjid also suffered damages as the finial of its middle dome broke. Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari said two people were injured as loose stones fell from one of the minarets and other parts of the mosque.
Eights flights were diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Dehradun due to bad weather, Delhi airport sources told ANI. The delayed flights included at least 40 departures.
The after effects of the rain spell and storm were seen on Tuesday as the Supreme Court was unable to conduct virtual hearings due to disruption in internet services. SC’s Computer Cell informed that the court will conduct fully physical hearings on Tuesday as registry was unable to conduct virtual hearings.
(Video Credit: News18)
A 50-year-old man from Jama Masjid area died after a balcony caved in following the hailstorm and rain. In another incident, a 65-year-old homeless man identified as Basir Baba died after a Peepal tree fell on him in the Angoori Bagh area of North Delhi, police said.
The death toll rose to three on Tuesday after Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Esha Pandey said that a man’s body was fished out from waterlogged railway underpass in Pul Prahladpur area.
“Around 10:22 pm on Monday, a call was received at the Pul Prahladpur police station about a person drowning in the waterlogged railway underpass. After searching the underpass for half-an-hour, divers from a rescue team fished out a man’s body, aged around 45-50 years and Kiran I Love u tattooed on his right hand. Efforts are on to identify him,” the DCP said.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena visited some of the affected places. “Distressed by the sight of uprooted trees, fallen branches and waterlogging at places after the early evening storm… Instructed officials to take immediate steps to remove debris and clear the roads immediately so as to mitigate the inconvenience to people,” he tweeted.
The change in weather, however, brought the much-needed respite to the residents who suffered under a sultry morning, and days of scorching heat. Following the heavy rainfall and thunderstorm, the temperature in the national capital dropped by around 13 degrees at Palam and by around 16 degrees at Safdarjung, the India Meteorological Department said. Between 4:20 pm and 5:40 pm, the temperature fell from 40 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung.
According to police, 294 calls about fallen trees were received till 8pm on Monday. In many places, vehicles were damaged after the trees fell on them owing to strong winds and rain. West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma’s car was also damaged after the branches of a tree fell on the vehicle parked at his official residence at Windsor Place. “Till 7.15 PM, a total of 101 complaints were received about uprooted trees and broken branches,” a senior NDMC official said.
Traffic snarls
Commuters had a difficult time as traffic snarls were reported near ITO, AIIMS flyover, and DND.
“Traffic is affected on MB Road (Both carriageway) due to waterlogging at Railway Underpass Pul Prahladpur. Kindly avoid the stretch,” the Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet.
Mahesh Kumar, an auto driver stuck in a heavy traffic jam on the Jai Singh Marg, said, “I started from the High Court. After seeing traffic on reaching Ashoka Road where trees had fallen, I took several other routes to finally reach Jai Singh Marg but have been stuck for the last 1.30 hours. Every route I took, I saw traffic jams.” Another commuter Vinay Yadav said he was stuck at the Jai Singh Marg for more than two hours. “I came from Rajender Palace area and since trees have fallen, we are stuck in traffic. I need to reach home at Sarita Vihar. With this traffic, I don’t think I would reach home anytime soon,” he said.
(Image: News18)
Rains accompanied by rumbling thunder and pleasant winds swept the city at a speed of 50 km/hour. Delhi had recorded a minimum temperature of 27.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season’s average, with the weather department predicting overcast conditions for the city on Monday.
The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 63 per cent. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 41 degrees Celsius. Parts of the national capital received light rain on Sunday evening with the maximum temperature settling at 40.7 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the season.
(With inputs from PTI)
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment