Delhi received its first monsoon shower of the year on Friday, as the south-west winds covered almost the entire National Capital Region (NCR), including Gurugram, a week after its usual arrival date of June 29 and advanced further into north India. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rain in the next few days.

With monsoon setting in, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal directed all head of departments and civic agencies to desilt drains and clear roads to ensure resolution of all waterlogging complaints within 30 minutes, a press statement read.

“All complaints must be resolved within 30 minutes of being received by pumping out water... Public works department and other agencies have been informed and they are ready with pumps to remove the water from waterlogging-prone spots,” the statement read.

On Thursday, the IMD had forecast that the monsoon would hit Delhi over the weekend.

“Monsoon hit Delhi, covering almost the entire NCR, and many parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday. Light rain is expected in Delhi and NCR over the next few days. The temperature is expected to hover around 35°C-36°C in Delhi,” said a senior official of the regional weather forecasting centre.

While Safdarjung received 26.4mm rain till 5:30 pm on Friday, Palam received around 6.9mm rain. The heaviest rain was recorded at Lodhi Road at 28.8mm.

On Friday, the maximum temperature at Safdarjung, taken as representative weather for Delhi, was 34.2°C—2°C below normal. In Gurugram, the day temperature stood at 37°C. In Gurugram, the day temperature is expected to hover around 36°C till at least Monday, IMD officials said, adding that the minimum temperature during the same period would be around 27°C.

The monsoon shower brought relief from the hot and humid conditions that had prevailed over Delhi over the past few days. This year, Delhi recorded its second driest June in 26 years with only around 11.4 mm rain. The scant pre-monsoon rain had forced the mercury to shoot up to 48°C in June.

“The progress of rainfall is decent. We are expecting slightly heavy rainfall from July 6 and a further increase on July 8-9. It will reduce thereafter because there is no weather system to bring rain in the region after that,” RK Jenamani, senior scientist at the National Weather Forecasting, said.

With the arrival of the monsoon, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has set up a 24x7 helpline number—155303—for citizens to report waterlogging, building collapse and falling of trees.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Congress accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led government and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led municipal bodies in the city of failing tackle the problem of waterlogging.

The AAP dismissed the claims saying, “The AAP has ensured that public does not face any inconvenience due to waterlogging and related issues.”

The BJP, on the other hand, said, “The municipal bodies have to bear the brunt of the monsoons because the city government fails to clear the bigger drains, which come under its jurisdiction. While the AAP is the present ruling party here, the Congress has ruled for 15 years. What have they done?”

First Published: Jul 06, 2019 00:04 IST