New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Traffic in the national capital was severely affected Tuesday after signals stopped functioning following a failure in the Northern Power Grid.
Traffic flow, already slow since Tuesday morning rains led to waterlogging in several areas, became worse by the afternoon when the lights failed.
Nearly 4,000 traffic police personnel were immediately rushed to various spots to manage the flow, an official told IANS.
Delhi Disaster Management Authority teams also fanned out to help sort out the traffic tangle and evacuate people from the Delhi Metro, which had to suspend services on all six lines.
"Due to grid failure again, the city is without electricity in most areas. Traffic signals are not functioning due to power failure. We are trying to manage through personnel managing traffic manually. This slows down traffic," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg said.
"Due to the Delhi Metro being shut down, the number of people on road swelled. This added to the problem created by non-functioning traffic lights. However, teams were immediately rushed in and the situation is being brought under control," a traffic police official said.
Commuters were told to avoid the central business district of Connaught Place, which connects to the New Delhi railway station.
Major arterial roads connecting Delhi to its satellite towns of Gurgaon and Noida saw long snarls.
"I was stuck for an hour near Connaught Place, where it normally takes less than 15 minutes to cross," Rajesh Sharma, a commuter, said.
The northern and eastern power grids collapsed around 1 p.m. Tuesday, forcing a power crisis through several states including Delhi. Metro services were suspended around 1.10 p.m.
It was a replay of the scenes Monday, when the Northern Grid had collapsed leading to virtual paralysis of public services in seven states.
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