Delhi rains: Netizens find humour in waterlogged streets as heavy rains pound city

New Delhi: As early morning rains brought the national capital to its knees on Friday, the city found itself flooded, both with water and memes on social media.

The annual occurrence of the flooding of the Minto Bridge, as well as waterlogging in different parts of the city, attracted sarcastic comments and memes from netizens after Delhi received heavy rainfall with the onset of monsoon.

As the video of a car submerged in water under the bridge on Minto Road surfaced on social media, some compared the floating car to an “annual vehicular sacrifice”, others said it was the “only barometer” to confirm the monsoon’s arrival.

“People of Delhi observe annual vehicular sacrifice at Minto Bridge as part of ancient tradition officially announcing the arrival of monsoon rains in the capital,” Kabir Taneja, an X user, wrote on the microblogging platform.

Businessman Suhel Seth said, “For all those criticising the Minto Road Bridge flooding: remember only when it gets flooded do we know the monsoons are upon us. It’s the only barometer we have so stop the criticism please. Am now waiting for the gondolas in Gurgaon.”

Another X user with the handle @ColdCigar wrote, “Minto Bridge ke neeche jab tak gaadi na fase tab tak baarish ko baarish mausam Vibhag bhi nahi maanta hai” (Even the weather department doesn’t consider it a proper rain until a car gets stuck under Minto Bridge), while one Birender Dhanoa suggested the Minto Bridge “needs its own live feed on YouTube” during the rains.

Minto Bridge, renamed Shivaji Bridge, was built in 1933 and connects Connaught Place to the Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi Railway Station. Over the years, it has come to be known for being waterlogged after each spell of heavy rain, almost without fail.

Monsoon arrived in Delhi with a fury in the early hours of Friday as heavy rains, the highest in a single day of June in 88 years, brought the national capital to a standstill leaving streets flooded, traffic caught in chaos and flight operations suspended at Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 due to a canopy collapse.

In several areas, vehicles were submerged as rain water flooded streets. Many areas experienced prolonged power cuts and several trees were uprooted.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also tried to find humour in the dire situation that he found himself in.

Posting a video of a flooded road in front of his house in central Delhi, Tharoor said he woke up to find the entire home “under a foot of water”.

“…Carpets and furniture, indeed anything on the ground, ruined. Apparently the storm water drains in the neighbourhood are all clogged so the water had no place to go. And they switched off the electricity since 6 am for fear of electrocuting people,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

He also warned his Parliament colleagues, saying, “I might not make it there without a boat.” Tharoor, however, didn’t need to go to the length of acquiring a boat as the water was pumped out and he arrived at Parliament in time.

X user Chetna @chetnakum said the city has four seasons – “Furnace, flood, smoke and spring” as she made light of the problems Delhi faces in different seasons.

Meanwhile, Naresh Nambisan shared the photo of a man, sleeping with a tyre tube wrapped around him.

“This man in Delhi claims he would be safe even in the event of a major flood at night. I think he has a point,” the X user posted.

A video of water pouring down from the roof at Delhi airport also circulated on social media, attracting comparisons with Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport that is famous for its indoor waterfall.

The HSBC Rain Vortex at the Singapore airport is 40-metre tall and is known to be the tallest indoor waterfall in the world.

X user Banrakas posted photos of the Rain Vortex and added, “When Singapore Changi airport has a water fountain, everyone goes gaga over it. When Delhi airport has a fountain, everyone has issues with it.” Another user, Vishal, said, “No need to go for Singapore, just go to Delhi and enjoy.”