Delhi rains bring economic loss as waterlogging, gridlock wreaks havoc: 2 in 3 surveyed report vehicle damage

Delhi-NCR rains over the past two days wreaked havoc. The showers not only disrupted day to day life but also brought economic costs as commuters spent hours in gridlock due to waterlogged roads. Compounding the costs were vehicle repair bills that came along because of damage from standing rainwater as sewage systems choked to absorb the gush of water. A survey conducted by Local Circles revealed that nearly 63% of Delhi-NCR residents surveyed, incurred additional maintenance and repair cost on their vehicle due to waterlogging after their vehicle got stuck in traffic jams.

Two in three respondents complained of a repair bill that most motor policies would not cover. This economic cost is beyond the loss of productivity and working hours because of the delay and disruption in traffic movement. The report further highlights that 75% respondents said that they lost productivity and working hours while 88% complained of extra time spent in traffic. Nearly 25% of those surveyed reported other issues and 13% said they met an accident.

These findings follow Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) heavy rain alert for 6 and 7 August. Safdarjung recorded 98.7 mm of rain in 24 hours period ending at 8:30 am on 8 August, Lodhi Road registered 86.8 mm rainfall, at Palan this figure stood at 104.6 mm and Ridge recorded 89.8 mm rain, making it the rainiest August day of the season so far.

Authorities issued a second work-from-home advisory for Friday after the weather office upgraded warning to red alert from orange. The survey covered residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad and recorded over 11,000 responses.

Were city authorities and local administration fully prepared to face August rains?

Over preparedness of authorities to tackle rain, the report said, “79% Delhi NCR residents surveyed rate their local administration as poor or worse when it comes to water logging preparedness. Asked to rate their city administration on water logging preparedness this monsoon season, 50% rated it pathetic and another 29% rated it poor, taking the negative rating to 79%. 21% rated it average and not one respondent rated it good or very good.”

On 7 August, significant traffic disruption was reported after few hours of rain at several key locations, including Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, ITO, Wazirabad Road, Patel Road, Rohtak Road, Shankar Road, the Kirti Nagar stretch, the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, Peeragarhi, Shaheen Bagh, GT Road, GTB Enclave, Dilshad Garden, Mahipalpur T-Point, Chhatarpur, Shakarpur, Dakshinpuri, Okhla, Sangam Vihar and Sainik Farms, Fatehpur Beri's Valmiki Basti, MB Road near the Air Force Station and Noida Sector 95 underpass below the Mahamaya Flyover, among others.

Survey demographics reveal that 69% respondents were men while 31% respondents were women.