Two persons died and several others were injured after heavy rainfall lashed Delhi on Monday evening, PTI reported. The national capital region was hit by gusty winds, thunderstorm and hailstorm.
A 50-year-old man died in central Delhi’s Jama Masjid area after a portion of a balcony of a neighbouring building fell on him. He was identified as Kailash. The doctors at Sanjeevan Hospital in Daryaganj declared him dead on arrival, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shweta Chauhan.
In another accident in the Angoori Bagh area of North Delhi, a 65-year-old homeless man was crushed by a tree, the police said. He was identified as Basir Baba.
In Chandni Chowk near Kabootar Market, a family of three members, including a one-year-old baby, was rescued after a neem tree fell on their car.
Earlier in the day, eight flights were diverted to Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Dehradun because of the rainfall, the Hindustan Times reported.
Many planes were circling over the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, but could not land due to the bad weather, NDTV reported, citing flight-tracking websites.
“Raindrops and thunderstorms in Delhi may impact our flight operations,” IndiGo said in a tweet. “Please keep enough travel time in hand to avoid any hassle. Keep a check on your flight status. For any assistance, DM us on Twitter/Facebook.”
According to the Palam observatory readings near the airport, the temperature dipped by 13 degrees Celsius.
Cars damaged, trees uprooted
Images on Twitter showed several cars damaged due to the heavy rainfall.
Several trees were uprooted in Bhai Vir Singh Marg, Connaught Place, Sanchar Bhawan and other parts of the city, bringing traffic to a standstill, ANI reported.
Kasturba Gandhi Marg was closed for commuters, The Times of India reported.
The Delhi Police said that 294 calls were made till 8 pm to report fallen trees in various parts of the city, reported PTI.
The Jama Masjid also suffered damage due to the storm.
“The kalas [finial] of the main dome fell off,” Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari told PTI. “It needs urgent repair to prevent further damages. Some stones of the mosque structure also loosened and fell off.”
He said that two persons were injured after stones fell on them.
A team was sent to Jama Masjid to assess the damage, said officials of the Delhi Waqf Board.
Earlier on Monday, the weather department had predicted a thunderstorm with light to moderate-intensity rain and gusty winds with a speed up to 50 kilometres per hour, NDTV reported.
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