Heavy monsoon rains bring New Delhi to a halt

Sep 9, 2011, 8:14 GMT

New Delhi - Heavy monsoon rains lashed the Indian capital on Friday, disrupting road and rail traffic and leading to the death of a girl in a wall collapse.

The rainfall, the highest recorded for a day during the current monsoon season, caused massive traffic jams on key roads and intersections across the city. Suburban trains were running late as the tracks were inundated.

'Major roads were waterlogged, leading to traffic congestion and snarls at various places,' Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Satyendra Garg told reporters.

'Commuters, particularly office-goers and school children, were delayed by several hours,' he added.

The heavy downpour also resulted in the collapse of a hospital boundary wall in northern Delhi which killed a young girl, the NDTV network reported.

According to the Meteorological Office, Delhi had received 91 millimetres of rain by Friday noon (0630 GMT) and heavy rains were expected to continue until Saturday.

A total of 513.9 millimetres of rain has been recorded in Delhi since the onset of the monsoon at the end of June.

The monsoon season in India lasts until October. It routinely leaves a trail of death and devastation in its wake. Nearly 800 people have died during the monsoon rains so far this year.