New Delhi, India | July 29, 2025: Delhi’s monsoon preparedness has come under intense scrutiny once again as heavy rainfall on Tuesday led to widespread waterlogging across the city, prompting sharp criticism from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj specifically targeted Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena and Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma, mocking their recent claims of “good work” in preventing waterlogging at ITO.
Bharadwaj took to X to share a purported video of severe waterlogging at Delhi’s ITO, sarcastically remarking, “This is Delhi’s ITO. On July 9, LG Sahab and PWD Minister Parvesh Verma had come here to inspect the waterlogging work, congratulating each other for the good work. Today, with waterlogging again, please accept my congratulations as well.” His post highlighted the apparent disconnect between official assurances and the ground reality for commuters.
The heavy rainfall severely inconvenienced commuters across the capital. Key affected areas included the Zakhira underpass, Connaught Place, Devli, and Panchkuian Road, where vehicles struggled to navigate the inundated streets. Traffic advisories were issued for multiple locations, including Zakhira Railway Underpass, Azad Market Underpass, ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Naraina, Patel Nagar, and Vijay Chowk, among others.
This renewed criticism follows claims made by PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on June 24. At the time, while inspecting pothole-filling work in Saket’s Press Enclave, Verma had blamed the previous AAP government for constructing “poor quality roads” and announced an initiative to fill 3,400 potholes in a day and construct at least 500 kilometers of road annually. “Our commitment is to give good roads to the people of Delhi… We have taken the initiative to fill 3,400 potholes in a day, and by 11 AM, we have filled 50% of them. We will fill them all by evening,” Verma had stated.
Verma had also previously addressed concerns about waterlogging, asserting that the Minto Bridge, historically infamous for severe flooding during monsoons, remained unaffected in recent rains due to timely government action. However, widespread waterlogging across other key areas today has cast doubts on the effectiveness of overall monsoon preparedness.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Delhi, predicting continued heavy rainfall across India until August 4. Northwest India, including East Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, is expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall on July 29, with heavy showers forecasted for Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana. West India, including Konkan and Gujarat, will see isolated heavy rain today and light to moderate showers for the next 6-7 days.
Northeast India, including Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, is expected to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall. East and Central India, including Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, will experience isolated heavy rain and thunderstorms. South Peninsular India, including Kerala and Coastal Karnataka, is expected to experience heavy rain on July 29-30, accompanied by strong winds. The IMD forecasts fairly widespread to widespread rainfall over Northwest, Northeast, and Eastern India in the coming days, with scattered to fairly widespread rainfall over Central and Peninsular India.
As Delhi residents brace for more rain, the political blame game over the city’s annual waterlogging crisis intensifies, with the Opposition demanding accountability for the disrupted civic life.