Omar Abdullah finds history repeating itself as DTC bus gets marooned in Delhi underpass

Rain lashed parts of the national capital during the early hours of Sunday bringing much-needed respite for Delhiites from the scorching heat. The rain was followed by lightning and a thunderstorm. However, because of this, there was waterlogging in many places as well.

'Bus stuck under Minto bridge'

As a result of the deluge, a bus of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) got stuck under the Minto Road Bridge. Passengers of the bus were rescued by personnel of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS). So far, there are no reports of injury among those who were on board the DTC bus. According to an official statement, a bus and two autos were trapped in water. The driver, conductor of the bus and an auto driver were safely rescued."

The visuals of the bus make the depth of the flooded underpass evident. It appears to be at least 8-9 feet deep.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted rainfall in Delhi and its adjoining states, including Haryana and Punjab, for the next three-four days.

'No Delhi monsoon is complete...'

Reacting to this, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that no monsoon in the national capital is complete without a “bus stuck under Minto bridge” story. "Thankfully this year is no different," he tweeted.

Till 5:30 am, the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded 4.9 mm rainfall. The Palam weather station gauged 3.8 mm precipitation.

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Kuldeep Srivastava, head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre, said, "Moderate to isolated heavy rains were witnessed in parts of Delhi-NCR." Earlier, the IMD had predicted isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over parts of northwest India. It had said the "entire monsoon trough is most likely to shift northwards, closer to the foothills of the Himalayas during July 19-20".

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According to the IMD, the Safdarjung Observatory has recorded 47.9 mm rainfall in July so far, which is 56% less than the normal of 109.4 mm. Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations have recorded 38 and 49% less rains in July. Srivastava said the fresh spell of rains will reduce the deficit to some extent.

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(With agency inputs)