Several parts of the nation’s capital faced power outages as poles, wires and other electrical installations were damaged by the severe thunderstorm and heavy rains that battered the city on Monday night.

The cases of power outages in the city were mainly due to the felling of trees and branches on overhead power lines and poles, said an official from BSES BRPL and BYPL discoms.

The discom which covers most parts of the city said power had been restored “quickly” to most of the affected areas.

“BSES discoms were on high alert and deployed rapid response teams. It took a little longer than usual to restore power to some areas as the cut and l tree removals were undertaken by civic agencies,” an official said.

Short circuits, sparks and blackouts also affected the power supply, as wet and swinging tree branches came into contact with overhead wires, he added.

Several parts of North Delhi including Narela, Bawana, Burari, Rohini and Civil Lines faced power cuts due to the storm, a TPDDL discom spokesperson said.

“Gusts of wind, thunderstorms and heavy rain enveloped Delhi this evening, power supply was affected in several parts of North Delhi. The storm caused damage to the power grid causing power outages due to tripping and falling trees and branches on overhead power lines and poles,” he said.

The situation was being assessed and damage to 40 utility poles was reported, she said.

Network restoration works are being carried out in the affected areas in a gradual manner, tireless efforts are being made to minimize the effect, the TPDDL spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the city was brought to a standstill as the downpour and resulting waterlogging, coupled with uprooted trees, led to massive traffic jams.

Trees were uprooted in several places including Bhai Vir Singh Marg in Gole Market near the Nepalese Embassy and Parliament Street Police Station which hampered traffic.

Kasturba Gandhi Marg, in the heart of the city, was completely closed to vehicle traffic for hours after some trees were uprooted there.

There were also visuals of utility poles damaging vehicles in the Southern Extension Market while a Delhi Traffic Police stall in Vijay Chowk was damaged due to high winds.

Traffic police said traffic jams were reported at Lajpat Nagar, Ashram, Malviya Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan, Connaught Place, Ashoka Road, KG Marg, Feroza road among others, a traffic police official said.

SS Special Police (Traffic) Commissioner Yadav said: “Vehicle traffic had obviously become slow, but our teams ensured that ambulances near AIIMS, RML and other hospitals did not encounter no obstacles. No calls for stalled ambulances were received.

Delhi Fire Service Director Atul Garg said the fire service is doing all it can to clear the road in central Delhi where as many trees as possible have fallen apart from attending calls normal.

Social media users tagged Delhi Traffic Police sharing photos of various places where trees had been uprooted. The Delhi Police assured people that their issues were being taken care of.

Mahesh Kumar, a motorist stuck in a traffic jam on the Jai Singh Marg, said: “I started from the High Court and after seeing traffic on Ashoka Road where trees had fallen, I took several detours to finally reach the Jai Singh Marg, but I’ve been stuck here for 1:30.

(Only the title and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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