1 feared dead as rains unleash chaos

A man in his 30s is feared to have drowned after falling into a drain in south Delhi's Mehrauli during Tuesday’s heavy downpour, a police officer said, adding that the area, close to a dargah, is prone to waterlogging and overflowing drains whenever it rains.

- Gargi Shukla and Snehil Sinha

The man, identified as Deven-dra, is suspected to have slipped into the drain on Tuesday morning and was swept away by the current. A search operation continued till late evening but he was not found. Authorities said the search will resume on Wednesday morning.

The heavy rain did not just threaten lives ~ it also threw the city into chaos, leaving arterial roads waterlogged, traffic crawling, and metro concourses inundated. Just two days before Nav-ratri festivities peak on Dussehra (October 2), the rain puta literal dampener on celebrations, with scores of Ravana effigies soaked. Ramlila organisers were seen rushing to repair flooded grounds where rehearsals were underway.

Several stretches maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD), including Ring Road near ITO, Rohtak Road, Mathura Road, and the Mehrauli-Badarpur corridor, were waterlogged, leading to long tailbacks during peak hours.