By IANS,
New Delhi : Thousands of air and rail passengers had a harrowing time Friday as dense fog disrupted train and flight services for several hours in the national capital.
Passengers were stranded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and all three long-distance railway stations in the capital as services of around 50 international and domestic flights and 65 trains were affected due to poor visibility.
The visibility dropped to zero in the city early Friday and continued to remain below 50 metres at 10 a.m.
Majority of passengers complained of not being informed about cancellation, rescheduling and delay of flights and trains in advance.
“Before starting from my Dwarka home to catch Amritsar bound Shan-e-Punjab train, I checked with the railway enquiry and they told me it is running on time. When I reached New Delhi railway station I found that the train has been cancelled,” said an angry Gauri Kakkar, 18.
A Northern Railways spokesperson said 36 trains had been cancelled, 22 delayed and seven rescheduled.
“My wife and children are coming by Purshotam Express from Puri in Orissa. The train has been delayed for 11 hours and nobody is providing any information about the current status of the train,” said an upset Rajat Verma, who had been waiting at the railway station since 4 a.m. Friday.
At least 30 domestic and 20 international flights were affected due to the dense fog that brought down the runway visibility below the required 150 metres.
“I have to catch a flight to Dehradun which was scheduled to take off at 10.20 a.m. but when I reached the airport I was told that it has been delayed and will now leave at 12.50 p.m. I was not told about the delay and due to the fog, I had started from my Gurgaon home at 6 a.m. so that I don’t miss the flight,” said Shanti Singh, a marketing professional.
Motorist too had a tough time driving Friday as fog completely blanketed the city.
“I could not see anything as I drove from Laxmi Nagar (in east Delhi) Friday morning. I was driving at a speed of 20 kilomteres per hour so that I don’t bump into any other vehicle on the road. It took me two hours to reach my office at Parliament Street, which on a clear day takes me less than 40 minutes,” said Aashi Singh, a government employee.