Heavy rains make life difficult for Delhiites

Delhi government has begun evacuation from the Yamuna floodplains.

The Delhi government on Friday began evacuation in the Yamuna floodplains as the water level of the river rose to 205.22 metres, worryingly close to the “danger mark” of 205.33 metres, as a result of the rains bombarding northern India. The irrigation and flood control department has deployed 13 boats in different areas and placed another 21 boats on standby to deal with emergencies. With Haryana discharging more water into the river following a dispute with the Delhi Jal Board over the Delhi water shortage, the Delhi Police and the East Delhi district administration have begun evacuating the people who live on the floodplains of the Yamuna. The evacuated people are being shifted to shelter homes belonging to the city government in the Yamuna Pushta area, according to officials.
Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh will see widespread rainfall over the next three days. On Thursday, heavy rainfall was recorded in Delhi, West Bengal, and Haryana. Currently, northern parts of the country are under active monsoon conditions, whereas the southern peninsula is experiencing a “below average monsoon”. Rainfall is classified as “light” when it is between 2.5 and 15.5mm, as “moderate” when it is between 15.6 and 64.4mm, and “heavy” when it is above 64.5mm in a single day. Thursday marked the third “heavy” rainfall day, when the Delhi base in Safdarjung measured 72mm of rainfall after an intense spell of rains that afternoon. The amount of rainfall received in July as of Friday is 463.5mm, which is more than double the average monthly mark of 210.6mm. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials, Delhi will experience light to moderate rains for another week as a result of the monsoon trough passing through the region.
The Delhi monsoon is usually a welcome sight, providing relief to the crores of denizens after a sweltering summer. However, the fervid monsoon has become an unwelcome experience to many Delhiites, as the heavy and incessant rainfall begins to take its toll on the capital city. On Wednesday, Delhi saw a large number of traffic jams, water-logging and even a few wall collapses. The areas that witnessed water-logging include Vasant Kunj, Malviya Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Vikas Marg, Rohini Sector 20, Uttam Nagar, and Sangam Vihar, according to officials. Officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) also stated that very few complaints of road damage and water-logging were received. Traffic was also slowed down on some roads such as Vikas Marg, Sarai Kale Khan, India Gate circle, and Ring Road.
On Thursday evening, a 40-year-old woman died, and her daughter was injured after the roof of their hovel collapsed due to heavy rains. The two women lived in the Navjeevan Camp slums in Delhi’s Govindpuri area. According to the fire department, upon receiving a call about the collapse, three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. “Two women got trapped under the debris. One of them suffered head injury and the other fell unconscious. Both of them were rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment,” said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service.
The current monsoon season is the most delayed arrival of rains since 2002. The IMD had predicted the onset of the monsoon on 15 June, but kept on delaying the date, becoming targets for online memes and trolls. The rains finally arrived on 13 July, bringing an end to the heat waves that had swept across the city during the first two weeks of July. The IMD said the delay in the arrival of the monsoon in the capital was mainly due to a lack of formation of low-pressure areas over the Bay of Bengal, no presence of monsoon trough at mean sea level near Delhi, and 5-6 western disturbances that moved west to east across north India, which overwhelmed the monsoon easterlies. Due to the heavy rains, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) improved to a new rating of “Satisfactory”.