New Delhi: As flooding worsened across several stretches of the city on Thursday, motorists were hit by severe disruptions on some of Delhi’s busiest arterial roads. Heavy congestion was reported at Mukarba Chowk, Ring Road, Vikas Marg, Outer Ring Road and several adjoining routes. The Old Wazirabad Bridge on Wazirabad Road was closed due to rising Yamuna levels, directly affecting those travelling between Soor Ghat and Wazirabad flyover as well as commuters heading from Mukarba Chowk, ISBT and Timarpur Road towards Sonia Vihar and Khajuri Chowk. Traffic also slowed to a crawl on Outer Ring Road and connected stretches, with waterlogging making commuting difficult. There were snarls on the Majnu Ka Tila–ITO stretch and vehicle pile-ups on the route between Majnu Ka Tila and Ring Road bypass. As a result, there were jams on Boulevard Road, Raja Ram Kohli Marg, Vikas Marg, Salimgarh bypass and Mahatma Gandhi Marg. Diversions were set up at several points like Wazirabad–Signature Bridge, Chandgi Ram Akhada–IP College traffic signal, Rajghat, Shanti Van, ITO Chowk and IP flyover. The Monastery Market U-turn was also closed to streamline vehicular movement. Adding to the chaos, a large pothole on NH-44 Singhola flyover forced authorities to shut both carriageways between Mukarba Chowk and the Singhu border. Diversions were already in place at Mukarba Chowk on NH-44 and near Bakoli Village toward UER-I, but the sudden closure of this corridor meant long delays for those travelling toand from Sonipat. Officials later clarified that the flyover was damaged not only by the downpour, but also by a leaking Delhi Jal Board pipeline. In a statement, NHAI said, “The settlement happened because of leakage from a DJB pipeline crossing NH-44, due to which water spread into the approaches and foundation. The pipeline was immediately shut down by DJB.” Commuters vented on social media. One motorist tweeted: “Severe traffic jam at Mukarba Chowk coming from Sonipat — 40 minutes, still no relief. Please open the Lavanya flyover so people can take UER road to reach Narela, Sonipat, and NH-44. This is ridiculous, you are blocking it 5 km before the incident.”
