Ghaziabad: Traffic crawled on NH-9 and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway during peak hours on Thursday as heavy rain caused waterlogging near the Ghazipur stretch, slowing vehicles to a halt.Rajesh Tyagi, who travels daily from Crossings Republik to his office in Connaught Place, said the journey that usually takes an hour stretched well beyond schedule. He typically leaves home by 9 am to reach his workplace by 10 am, he said, but he remained stranded in traffic for nearly 60 minutes amid the downpour.“Since it was raining since morning today, I checked Google Maps and felt I should leave 15 minutes earlier. But even after taking that precaution, I was stuck in traffic for more than 30 minutes on the DME in Ghaziabad and another 30-plus minutes on Delhi’s roads. I ended up reaching the office around 11.15 am,” he said.
Cars stranded in slush in Indirapuram
Another commuter, Ankit Singh of Noida Extension, said his parents were catching an 11 am train to Bihar from New Delhi railway station on Thursday. “While booking a cab, it showed the travel time would be around 1 hour, but it took more than 2.30 hours to reach. Thankfully, we had left the house at 8.30 am,” he said.
Traffic crawls on NH-9
DCP (traffic) Trigun Bisen said more than 50 traffic personnel were deployed to ease congestion on the DME and NH-9 between Vijay Nagar and UP Gate, with waterlogging in the Ghazipur area cited as the cause of the jam.Six points along NH-9 under the Vijay Nagar zone have been flagged as waterlogging-prone, with commuters, particularly bikers, wading through knee-deep water at underpasses. Hariom, whose bike broke down near Indirapuram and Noida Sector 62 underpass, said he had to drag it nearly 2 km through a half-submerged stretch. “There was just a narrow hole for accumulated water to pass, and it takes hours for water to clear. There is no provision to dewater,” he said.
Snarl on GT Road near Lal Kuan
At Naya Khoda side of NH-9, rainwater mixed with overflowing sewage and garbage near the underpass leading to the Sai roundabout in Indirapuram. Resident Somesh Singh said his car got stuck in sludge as he tried to avoid the flooded middle of the road. “I had to plead with bystanders to help me push my car. It is complete chaos,” he said.
