Light rain greets Delhi on 79th Independence Day

Delhi woke up to light rain on the 79th Independence Day on Friday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast overcast skies during the day. The minimum temperature is expected to settle between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius and the maximum between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the Independence Day celebrations from the historic Red Fort, where he will unfurl the national flag and address the nation. The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Naya Bharat’.

On Thursday, intense downpours left several areas waterlogged for hours, stranding vehicles and forcing commuters to wade through flooded streets. Private cars and public buses were seen struggling through the Dhaula Kuan–Gurugram stretch, while many two-wheeler riders had to dismount and push their vehicles through submerged sections. A video from an underpass near AIIMS showed corridors filled with water.

Also Read: From Nehru to now: Delhi’s Independence Day journey from simplicity to spectacle

In Kalkaji, a massive tree uprooted in the middle of a road fell on passing vehicles, killing 50-year-old Sudhir Kumar, who was riding a motorcycle with his daughter Priya, 22. She suffered a pelvic fracture. Bystanders holding umbrellas were seen in a video attempting to free the trapped duo.

In another incident, a wall collapse in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Vihar killed two boys, aged nine and ten, both from Bihar. Police said they were rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors declared them brought dead.

The Public Works Department’s flood control room received over 50 complaints of waterlogging on Thursday. Between 8.30 AM and 11.30 AM alone, Safdarjung recorded 74 mm of rain, Lodhi Road 62.4 mm, Palam 38 mm, Ridge 34.6 mm, and Pusa 46 mm, IMD data showed.

The downpour brought the minimum temperature down to 23.6°C, about 3.2 degrees below normal.