Heavy rains flood parts of Delhi

New Delhi: The national capital witnessed heavy rain on Friday morning, with the minimum temperature settling a notch below average for this time of year at 24.5 degrees Celsius. The Met department has forecast rain till Saturday morning.Rain started at 8 am, causing peak-hour commuters to get stranded in parts of the city as major roads were flooded on account of poor drainage."We are getting many complaints of traffic jams due to choked drains. Traffic is slow in Nizamuddin, Greater Kailash 1, and Safdarjung in south Delhi," a traffic police official said.[caption id="attachment_1037651" align="alignleft" width="380"] A child dances in the rains in Delhi. AFP.[/caption]Pedestrians and people riding motorcycles and scooters were seen taking shelter under Metro over-bridges and other places, creating traffic bottlenecks."I am stuck on the Ring Road. I don't understand why, as soon as rain starts, the roads start getting choked," Akansha Singh of south Delhi told IANS.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 15.6 mm of rain from 8.30 am on Thursday to 8.30 am Friday.Friday morning also saw spells when the rain was reduced to a drizzle."The sky will remain cloudy, with rain and thundershowers in some parts of the city," an IMD official said, adding that maximum and minimum temperatures will stay around 32 and 25 degrees Celsius respectively.Humidity at 8.30 am on Friday stood at 97 percent.Since the monsoon's arrival in June, Delhi has received 539.6 mm of rain, 29 percent more than average.Thursday's maximum temperature was three notches below average for the season, at 30.7 degrees Celsius. The minimum was two notches below average, at 24.7 degrees Celsius.IANS