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Delhi airport, 'world's second-best', flooded after heavy rain




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>: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images; Workers from the Delhi International Airport Ltd. pumped out rain water near New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, July 31, 2012.

When Aakriti Sengupta landed at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport Sunday, the arrivals hall was knee-deep in water.

“You could literally go for a swim,” said Ms. Sengupta, a 34-year-old Mumbai-based accountant. “It was terrible.”

As monsoons arrived in New Delhi on Sunday – a fortnight ahead of schedule – the downpour paralyzed the Indian capital, causing widespread flooding and massive traffic jams.

The area around Delhi’s international airport received over four times the amount of rain as the rest of New Delhi on Sunday, according to estimates received by India’s meteorological department. Rain water seeped in as far as the arrival halls and the baggage carousels. Passengers, many soaked from the knees down, waded through muddy waters to collect their luggage.

In a statement to India Real Time, the Delhi International Airport Ltd., the firm which runs the airport, blamed the flooding on “poor drainage in surrounding areas and the comparatively low elevation of the airport.” Local authorities, the statement added, had started “augmenting drainage facilities” to “prevent the recurrence of incidents like today.”

In an interview, a company spokesman said the flooding had caused four out of seven baggage belts to close at the domestic arrivals hall in Terminal 3. Check-ins and departures, he said, had not been affected.

This is the second time rain has crippled the capital’s airport, the busiest in India. In September, rain water flowed into the arrival halls of the airport, paralyzing security checks and departures.

By Monday morning, the water had been swept out of the terminal but social media websites were abuzz with tweets and Facebook statuses on the chaos at the airport, which was last year ranked the fourth best in the world by the Airport Council International, a Geneva-based trade body.

“Delhi has a two-in-one! The airport when flooded also doubles up as a port,” columnist Suhel Seth wrote on Twitter. “Think positive. Now hassle free swimming, rafting, and boating @ Delhi Airport,” tweeted a user who identified himself as Ajay Kumar Singh.

The Twitter feed of the Delhi Traffic Police, too, was flooded with advisories cautioning passengers of heavy traffic along water-logged highways leading to the airport.

The Delhi airport handles over 34 million passengers annually, according to figures published by the Airports Authority of India.

And it’s just not the airport, Delhi in general is devastated by the downpour!

Delhi airport, 'world's second-best', flooded after heavy rain

Monsoon arrived in the Capital on Sunday, almost a fortnight ahead of schedule, bringing much relief to Delhiites from the scorching heat.

But the heavy downpour led to waterlogging in many areas, causing inconvenience to commuters.

According to the Delhi traffic police, huge traffic jams were seen at Prahaladpur flyover and MB Road, Mathura Road and Ashram. Waterlogging struck in Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Laxmi Nagar, ITO and Kashmere Gate.

Incessant rains also led to waterlogging at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Passengers waded through knee-deep water while the baggage handling system was left crippled. The airport witnessed an unprecedented rainfall of 117.8mm between 1pm and 5.30pm.

Flooding: Emergency workers were pressed into action to drain the water from Terminal 3 area of the IGI Airport

The amount of rainfall combined with poor drainage system and comparative low elevation of the airport led to back flow of water, which led to flooding at Terminal 3, an airport official said.

Services at the domestic arrivals were the most affected due to flooding which forced the airport authorities to close the functioning of four baggage belts. As the water crept into the terminal building, the airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited pressed emergency workers into action. The rainwater had entered the international and domestic arrival halls.

This girl was among many caught in the monsoon rain at Rajpath near India Gate

Bad news for commuters: Traffic jams and waterlogging affected several areas of the Capital

The situation was brought under control only late in the evening. Sources said DIAL had written to civic agencies asking them to provide adequate drainage in the surrounding areas.

"The monsoon has reached Delhi 13 days ahead of its schedule. Its strength looks good and the Capital is likely to receive good rain this year," said B.P. Yadav, Director, India Meteorological Department.

Last year, the monsoon was delayed by eight days. It reached Delhi ahead of schedule in 2011 (June 26) but arrived late in 2010 (July 5). The earliest monsoon in the past 30 years in the Capital was recorded in 2008 (June 15).

Two weeks early: The downpours have hit Delhi almost a fortnight ahead of schedule

According to the MeT department, the average rainfall in the Capital was recorded around 36.6mm on Sunday. The maximum temperature was recorded eight degrees less than normal at 31.5 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature was four degrees less than normal at 23.4 degrees Celsius.

The MeT department has predicted partly cloudy sky and rain/ thunderstorm in some parts of the city on Monday. Heavy rain caused traffic snarls at a number of places.