Double whammy for commuters due to Delhi Metro curbs, waterlogging after rain

The rain that parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to on Monday threatened to compound commuters’ woes in Delhi, with entry and exit gates at six Delhi Metro stations set to remain closed until 4 pm due to security concerns ahead of the Opposition’s planned march to the Supreme Court against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.The national capital woke up to heavy rain and thunderstorms on Monday morning, with the India Meteorological Department issuing a 'red' alert.The forecast warned of thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds reaching up to 60 kmph and heavy rainfall exceeding 15 mm per hour across Delhi till 9 am.The early morning downpour triggered waterlogging in the Jhandewalan Temple area near Karol Bagh in central Delhi. With IMD's warning in place, further flooding of streets was also expected. The rain added to the inconvenience already anticipated by commuters due to the scheduled and limited disruption to Delhi Metro services.On Sunday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced that entry and exit facilities at Janpath, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk and Patel Chowk would remain closed until 4 pm on Monday due to security reasons. However, interchange facilities would remain available at the concerned stations impacted by the limited shutdown."The situation will be reviewed by the security agencies and necessary updates will be shared accordingly. However, interchange facility will remain available at all the concerned metro stations," the DMRC said in a post on X.India Today took stock of the situation at Delhi's Mandi House metro station, where the entry and exit points were closed in line with the DMRC circular.A woman, who had to travel to Rohini, arrived at the station unaware of the disruption to services and was turned back by security personnel.Though the Delhi Metro restrictions were there to stay for the better part of the day, fewer barricades were seen on roads connecting Noida to Mandi House and Connaught Place.Although several traffic diversions were expected later in the day, traffic flow appeared normal at the ITO intersection and the Mandi House roundabout in the early morning hours.Apart from the restrictions at the six Metro stations, no major disruptions were immediately visible on the roads.This comes amid a planned march by Opposition leaders to the Supreme Court on Monday over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and party president Mallikarjun Kharge have sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to raise the issue.The CJI, however, declined to meet the opposition leaders, saying similar matters were sub judice in the Supreme Court and hence such a meeting would be inappropriate, sources told India Today.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has also announced that members of its core team – Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das, and legal head Ratna Singh – will visit the Parliament Street Police Station at 10 am on Monday to seek a date for their planned protest against Kumar.- Ends(With inputs from Sanjay Sharma, agencies)