Kejriwal cancels officials' weekly off, calls on them to inspect rain-hit areas

New Delhi, July 9 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday dismissed the weekly off of all government officials and instructed them to be on the ground and inspect their respective rain-hit areas.

"Yesterday, Delhi received 126 mm of rainfall. Only 15 per cent of the total monsoon rainfall occurred within a span of 12 hours. People faced significant problems due to waterlogging. Today, all the ministers and the mayor of Delhi will inspect the problem areas. They have instructed officials from all departments to cancel their Sunday holiday and be present on the ground for inspection," Kejriwal tweeted.

For two days, the entire NCR (National Capital Region) has been witnessing heavy rain, which has triggered waterlogging problems and other significant issues.

The initial downpour of monsoon rain wreaked havoc in both residential and commercial areas of Delhi on Saturday, recording 126.1 mm of rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m., the highest since the 24-hour rainfall of 133.4 mm on July 10, 2003, said an IMD (India Meteorological Department) official. The city had logged an all-time high of 266.2 mm on July 21, 1958.

Downpour, which started on Friday, marked the first substantial rainfall of the season, prompting the issuance of an 'orange' alert for further showers on Saturday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued a 'yellow' alert for Sunday.

Due to the rain, 15 houses collapsed in the capital on Saturday, and one house collapsed on Sunday morning.

--IANS