Heavy rains and subsequent waterlogging today crippled several cities including Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Delhi leaving tens of thousands of people stranded for hours in nightmarish traffic jams and flood-like situations in low lying areas.
Prohibitory orders were imposed near Hero Honda Chowk in Gurgaon, dubbed as 'Millenium City', in a bid to ease the congestion caused by massive traffic jams, even as political parties were locked in a slugfest over the situation.
Boats were also deployed in some parts of Bengaluru, the IT city, to evacuate stranded people.
In Bihar, the floods has affected about 22 lakh people in 10 districts while many rivers, including Koshi were flowing above danger mark, an official said, adding a total of 26 people have died in the state. The flood fury also continued unabated in Assam.
Long tailbacks were witnessed in gridlocked roads in Gurgaon for the second day today due to severe waterlogging on National Highway-8 after heavy rains lashed Delhi's satellite city leaving thousands of commuters stranded and forcing authorities to clamp prohibitory orders.
Schools were also ordered to be shut down in Gurgaon.
Many motorists abandoned their vehicles and waded through knee-deep water which accumulated on both the carriageways of Delhi-Jaipur road, including Hero Honda Chowk, bringing traffic to a standstill with the tailback extending up to 15-20 km.
Thousands of office goers and other commuters were stranded in Gurgaon as heavy rains led to waterlogging on National Highway-8 causing massive traffic jams, forcing authorities to shut down schools in Delhi's satellite city while some offices too declared it an off. Potholes and open manholes added to the woes of people.
Haryana Chief Secretary D S Dhesi said the situation aggravated last evening due to unexpected 46 mm rainfall recorded within three hours as against 190 mm rainfall recorded between June 1 and July 27 in Gurgaon. The situation in Gurgaon was reported to have slightly eased in the evening.
Traffic was also thrown out of gear in Delhi with vehicles moving at snail's pace on several roads due to waterlogging.
In Bengaluru, heavy incessant rains since last night brought traffic chaos and caused flooding of streets, crippling normal life in several parts of the city. There were also reports of people fishing in some waterlogged areas.
Kodichikkanahalli and Bilekahalli were severely affected in Bengaluru with water entering the houses in these areas. The city witnessed overflowing lakes and drainages coupled with uprooted trees, compounding woes of the people with submerged low-lying areas.
The Fire department has deployed boats in Kodichikkanahalli to evacuate stranded people out of their buildings, officials said.
Morning showers slowed down traffic on the arterial roads in the national capital while traffic snarls were also reported in Mumbai.
The traffic snarl on roads leading to Gurgaon following heavy rains last evening continued with Delhi Traffic Police warning commuters to avoid NH-8 this morning.
Morning showers slowed down traffic on the arterial roads of Delhi. Waterlogging on several roads, underpasses also resulted in severe traffic jams at different stretches, causing hardships to the commuters.
Different roads leading to Gurgaon including NH-8 and Sohna Road were congested in the morning. The movement of vehicles was very slow due to rains and waterlogging.
