The Hindu : New Delhi News : Rains hit air, rail traffic from Delhi

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Wednesday, Jul 05, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Rains hit air, rail traffic from Delhi

Staff Reporter

Downpour continues in Chhattisgarh

NEW DELHI: The torrential rains in Mumbai over the past two days affected air traffic at Delhi airport on Tuesday and also delayed arrival of a couple of trains from the Maharashtra Capital. A number of Mumbai-bound flights were delayed in the afternoon and evening and this had a cascading affect on the flight schedule at the airport.

Air traffic to Mumbai remained normal till 11-30 a.m. after which departures were delayed due to the heavy downpour and bad weather there. "First, two Mumbai-bound Jet flights had to be diverted to Vadodara and Ahmedabad, then the take-off of an Indian flight was delayed due to poor visibility at the Mumbai airport," informed a senior Delhi airport official.

At least a dozen Mumbai-bound flights were either delayed or cancelled during the day, which affected the schedule of flights to other domestic sectors also. "Almost all domestic flights from the Delhi airport were delayed in the evening, some by as much as an hour. However, not many passengers were stranded at the airport due to prompt dissemination of information about rescheduling of flights by different carriers," the official said. However, the disruption in movement of trains between Delhi and Mumbai was minimal. Only two trains - the August Kranti Rajdhani and the Mumbai Rajdhani -- arrived at least two hours late in the Capital on Tuesday.

"However, as it rained heavily throughout Tuesday in Mumbai, it would have affected departures and arrivals of trains there. From Delhi, all Mumbai-bound trains left on time on Tuesday. But there are reports of the railway schedule having gone haywire in Mumbai on Tuesday, and this might severely affect arrival of trains to the Capital from Mumbai on Wednesday. As a result, we will have to reschedule departure of late-arriving trains tomorrow," said a Northern Railway official here.

Agencies add:

Two persons were killed as heavy rains continue to lash Chhattisgarh for the third day on Tuesday, cutting off Bastar and many other areas of the State, officials said. "A four-year-old boy was washed away in Kareti village in Kanker district when he and his seven-year-old elder brother fell into a river while watching the flood waters," District Collector G.S. Dhananjaya said. A 28-year-old youth was killed when the wall of his house collapsed in Ghotia area of Kanker town, police said. A Delhi-Raipur flight could not land at the airport this morning due to `low visibility', airport manager Nanand Kumar told PTI.

"Because of very heavy rainfall, the Bastar-Raipur National Highway was washed away near Keshkar, disrupting road traffic since yesterday," Bastar's Superintendent of Police Gurjunder Pal Singh said. Six persons are missing when a boat capsized on Kanhar river which divides Jharkhand from Chhattisgarh, an official said on Tuesday.

Cyclone warning

Reeling under sweltering heat since the past few weeks, Kolkata and its neighbouring areas on Tuesday experienced considerable rain bringing relief to the people. The Met office here has warned the fishermen not to venture into deep sea due to cyclonic condition in the Bay of Bengal.

The south-eastern parts of Rajasthan have received showers while the State Capital continues to reel under scorching heat and extreme humidity.

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