The heavy rains lashed Delhi-NCR on Thursday morning improved the weather, but caused trouble for commuters as many areas were water-logged.
Though the rains brought respite from the humid conditions and brought down the mercury, the water-logged roads and potholes brought traffic to a halt in many areas, even as the traffic police was actively listing routes that should be avoided due to water-logging.
Traffic is affected at Vivek Vihar underpass, Seemapuri underpass and under the Ghazipur flyover, from Apsara Border to Shahdara, Seemapuri to Apsara Border and Khaira Mor to Bahadurgarh Bus Stand (all in east Delhi) and Najafgarh (west Delhi) due to water logging. Kindly avoid these stretches."
"Traffic is affected from Naraina T Point to Loha Mandi (west Delhi) due to water logging on Girdhari Lal Goswami Marg," the police tweeted.
Commuters across the city and region faced a multitude of problems.
"It always happens. The entire Delhi-Meerut Expressway gets water-logged during the monsoon. Today was worse.
"I had to reach my office at Connaught Place but couldn't start in time. I usually commute by bike. Today, I had to struggle in getting public transport too," said Karanpreet Singh, a 32-year-old accountant.
A commuter travelling from Kalkaji Extension to Noida said that covering the route usually takes 25 minutes but due to heavy rains on Thursday, the streets were completely choked.
"The travelling time went up to 1.2 hours. There was heavy traffic from Sarita Vihar underpass till Kalindi Kunj. And from Kalindi Kunj to Noida Sector 18," he said.
People of Noida, Ghaziabad and other border areas of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi turned out to be the worst sufferers.
A video, apparently from Ghaziabad, went viral on WhatsApp, showing a path turn into a waterfall with the rain water running on it flowing into a big dug up part of a road.
"When roads turn into rivers, you feel like you are rowing your car," a 49-year-old man commented sarcastically said, about the state of roads in Noida.
Another one complained about getting late for work as cabs were not available early in the morning.
"While it was pleasant to get some respite, it was a horrible experience to travel to work. There were no cabs or auto-rickshaws available. I wasted half an hour to book a cab on both Uber and Ola but to no avail.
"I finally had to walk through water-logged basement of my apartment and the waterlogged roads till I managed to get a ride from another commuter. There was heavy traffic as well. All factors put together, it took me an extra hour for a half an hour commute," said 29-year-old Vishwajeet, a public relations manager.
--IANS
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