1 dead as heavy rains lash Delhi; many stretches inundated

The body of a 60-year-old auto-driver was fished out of the waterlogged Minto Bridge in central Delhi on Sunday (July 19) after heavy rains flooded the roads of the national capital.

The body of the auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Kundan, was found floating in the water near the road under the bridge. It was retrieved by a trackman of the New Delhi Yard.

“I spotted the body while I was on duty at the tracks. I came down, swam, and retrieved it. The body was floating in front of a bus,” trackman Ramniwas Meena told ANI.

Police said the auto-rickshaw driver was driving towards CP in the morning and possibly died while trying to manoeuver his vehicle through the waterlogged underpass but in vain.

“A driver was trying to take his vehicle out of the waterlogged patch of road, leading to his death. There’re many agencies like MCD, PWD, and Jal Board to deal with waterlogging, making it difficult to ascertain who is responsible for waterlogging at a particular place,” AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh said.

Earlier in the day fire department personnel rescued the bus and conductor aboard a DTC bus that was also submerged in the waterlogged road under the bridge.

“We received the call around 7.45 am and rescued the driver and conductor of the bus and an auto driver,” Atul Garg, the director of Delhi Fire Services told Hindustan Times.

The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 4.9 mm rainfall in the morning. Several stretches of the national capital including Azadpur Underpass, South Avenue Road, Pul Prahladpur Underpass and the Paharganj side of New Delhi railway station witnessed waterlogging.