By IANS,
New Delhi : Incessant rain since early morning brought Delhi to a virtual standstill Thursday. Waterlogged roads and non-functioning traffic signals led to endless snarls that delayed commuters by hours.
Key roads like the Ring Road, the Dhaula Kuan intersection and the Delhi-Noida-Delhi expressway saw mile long queues. Traffic crawled at less than two kilometres per hour in places like Khanpur, Hauz Khas, Indraprastha Estate, Munirka, Ashram, Naraina.
Many children reached school late, and several office-goers decided to work from home to avoid being stuck on the roads. Some left home but turned back halfway, and those who left early to try and avoid the inevitable jams found it was a futile exercise.
“It took me nearly an hour to reach office in Rao Tula Ram Marg from my home in Subroto Park. On a normal day, it takes a maximum of five minutes. I was on a bike. Those in buses were in really bad condition,” commuter Naresh Kumar told IANS.
“The expressway only got me to the jam faster,” complained a young executive who left his home in Gurgaon at 8 a.m. for his office in central Delhi, only to get stuck at Dhaula Kuan. More than two hours after he left home, he still hadn’t reached office.
Santosh Kumar, who works in a private company, said: “It took over 90 minutes to cover a distance of just three kilometres. From Munirka to R.K. Puram there was almost no traffic movement.
According to India Meteorological Department, the city has over 100 mm of rainfall till 10 a.m. Thursday. The weatherman said that the rain will continue for a couple of days more. “The city will experience a few more spells of rain throughout the day.”