Early morning rains leave commuters stranded in Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 22: It was a wet Thursday morning in the capital as parts of the city were lashed by heavy rains, reducing traffic to a crawl. Many commuters were seen stranded on their way to work.

The city received a total of 3.7 mm of rainfall from 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday to 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Following a spell of light showers early morning, parts of the city, particularly east, central and south, witnessed a heavy downpour. Reduced visibility and waterlogging slowed traffic and caused snarls.

"I usually cover this stretch of road in just 10 minutes. Today I have been stuck here for over half an hour," said Avinash Singh, an advertising professional who takes the Noida Link Road that connects Delhi to suburb Noida.

Numerous two wheeler drivers could be seen taking refuge under flyovers and foot over bridges, waiting for the rains to subside. The scooters and bikes parked on the roadside contributed to the jams, narrowing down the space for flowing traffic.

Delhi Police said traffic jams were reported from major arterial roads around Saket, Sangam Vihar, Lajpat Nagar and Chirag Dilli in south Delhi, and also from central Delhi's commercial hub Connaught Place, and Noida Link Road in east Delhi.

The Met office forecast even more rain later in the day.

"The skies will remain overcast and more rains are expected," an official of the India Metrological Department (IMD) said.

The maximum temperature on Thursday is expected to hover around 33 degrees Celsius, while minimum temperature settled a notch below the season's average at 24.9 degrees Celsius.

Wednesday's maximum temperature settled a notch above average at 34.4 degrees Celsius while the minimum was three notches below average at 23.7 degrees Celsius.

Since an early arrival of the monsoon this year, the capital has recorded 748.9 mm of rain, 61 per cent above average.

IANS