New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Under attack for the flooding of city streets after heavy spells of rain, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Tuesday acknowledged that it was due to debris from Commonwealth Games-related construction work and directed that it be cleared up by Aug 10.
A day after torrential rains claimed the lives of 11 people in the capital, some major roads in the city remained under water, especially the busy ITO crossing in central Delhi and Dhaula Kuan, leading to massive traffic jams.

“The flooding is due to debris in several areas. We have directed the concerned authorities to clear it by Aug 10,” the chief minister told reporters.

Heavy traffic jams were also witnessed at many places in the city - some due to flooded roads and others due to vehicle breakdowns. The jams were reported from AIIMS flyover, the DND flyover connecting Delhi with Noida, Anand Vihar and Pitampura.

“At 9.20 a.m, traffic was crawling on the Moolchand underpass on the Ring Road. It took us 55 minutes to travel hardly a kilometre,” said Prateek, a government employee. Traffic police said while traffic movement in central Delhi was almost normal, there were problems in south Delhi.

After receiving several complaints of water-logging, the Delhi government Tuesday asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for a report on its preparations for the rains.

Municipal Commissioner K.S. Mehra has called a meeting of officials to assess the situation.

Rains lashed the capital Monday evening with wind speeds of 80 kmph at Palam; 51.6 mm of rain was recorded, leading to waterlogging and traffic jams in many parts of the city.

Of the 11 people who died due to rain-related incidents, six died of electrocution in Chandni Chowk, Mansarovar Park and West Patel Nagar, while five were killed in wall collapse in Vivek Vihar and Jhilmil.

At least 12 people were injured in wall collapse in east Delhi.

A MCD official said they received about 35 complaints of water-logging from several parts of the city Monday, but there were none so far Tuesday.

The heavy rains also led to 15 incidents of trees getting uprooted. The services of Delhi Metro were hit due to the rains at Jhandewalan, Noida city centre and Dwarka.

Traffic was disrupted for hours last week as well when rains lashed the city, flooding key areas like Dhaula Kuan.