Ending a long wait, monsoon showers lashed the capital on Friday after a delay of eight days, bringing relief from the scorching heat but creating chaos.
The evening rains exposed the claims of city government and civic bodies about desilting the drains as water-logging was reported from across the city and officials sought to put the blame on each other.
"Yes, we can say these are monsoon rains but officially we will announce it on Saturday as we have to observe the rainfall pattern for a period of 24 hours which ends at 8:30 am. Rains are widespread and will continue for another two-three days," said Director General of Indian Meteorological Department Laxman Singh Rathore.
The onset of monsoon in the capital has been delayed by eight days this year. The normal monsoon onset date for Delhi is June 29.
"Finally, the rains are here and we are spared of this torturous weather," said Anamika Verma, a college student.
Medium to heavy rains lashed most parts of the city in the evening hours, leading to traffic snarls at major traffic intersections and water logging. Thousands of people getting back home from office were stranded on roads across the capital.
There were rains in some parts of the capital early in the morning as well. While the maximum temperature was recorded at 38.4 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal, the minimum settled at 29.1 degrees Celsius.
Sudden rains led to water-logging and traffic snarls in areas like Laxmi Nagar, Parliament Street, ITO, R K Puram, Zakhira, Kishan Ganj, Nizammudin, Tagore Garden, Akshardham and Azad Market.
The civic bodies claimed their control rooms received only two complaints of water-logging till 7:30 pm. The complaints were received from Azadpur village and Rana Partap Bagh.
Residents were eager for rains as the city had been reeling under a severe heat wave, with the maximum temperature staying over 40 degrees Celsius for the whole of June and July.
The normal onset date for south-west monsoon in the capital is June 29. But last year, it reached Delhi ahead of schedule on June 26
