NOIDA: Like every year, monsoon rains brought the city to its knees on Friday as commuters had a tough time battling long snarls and navigating through waterlogged roads . However, the much-needed showers brought relief to residents from humidity and scorching heat. Noida received 17mm of rain in the afternoon that brought the maximum temperature three notches down to 34 degrees.In fact, traffic disruption started at various points on Noida roads around 3 pm after rains lashed the city at 2.30 pm.Commuters travelling towards Delhi from the city and vice-versa, and those commuting between Noida and Greater Noida via the expressway and the Bhangel route, had a harrowing time as waterlogging caused bottlenecks across the arterial roads. There were traffic jams on both the Noida-Delhi route and the Noida-Delhi Link Road, with waiting time stretching to 10 minutes.Motorists also got stuck at the Sector 16 underpass that joins the DND Flyway for over 15 minutes as two-wheelers started retreating towards Noida, driving on the wrong side of the road due to the waterlogging on the flyway. This slowed down the traffic not only at the DND Flyway, but also at Dalit Prerna Sthal and the crucial Noida-Delhi Link Road.Those driving towards Delhi complained that it had become a routine issue every year. “Footpath is blocking drainage of water and there is no proper channel for rain water to be drained out. This situation creeps up every year but the Noida Authority has still not found any solution to it,” said Anish Gupta, who regularly travels from Noida to Delhi.Commuters were also stuck at the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. The traffic jam at the expressway extended till Sector 91, with motorists getting trapped at the Mahamaya Flyover loop and Kalindi Kunj. Bottlenecks were also caused at the Hajipur underpass under the expressway and the service roads paralled to the high-speed corridor.Even as traffic constables and marshals were deployed at major spots, they seemed to be helpless.SP (traffic) Anil Jha told TOI that the major points where waterlogging disturbes traffic are the DND loop near Film City, Labour Chowk, Dalit Prerna Sthal, Shashi Chowk and Noida-Delhi Link Road near Sector 14A. “Apart from channelising the water, a new system allows to control water level by creating a small borewell. We had suggested this to the Noida Authority,” he said.

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