United States Secretary of State John Kerry and his convoy were stuck in a huge traffic jam near Delhi's Teen Murti Marg on Monday evening for over two hours due to severe waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall.
Kerry landed in Delhi around 8 p.m. and was on his way to his hotel in Chanakyapuri when his convoy got stuck in traffic. According to Voice of America journalist Steve Herman, additional forces were called to get Kerry's convoy out of the traffic after over an hour.
The hotel Kerry is staying in is around 13 kms from Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, which means that it takes roughly 20 minutes to cover the distance on a regular day. However, it took Kerry's convoy over two hours to reach the hotel due to the waterlogging.
Kerry is on a two-day visit to India for the Second Indo-US Strategic and Commercial (S&C) dialogue.
A series of tweets posted by Bloomberg News foreign policy reporter Nicholas Wadhams, who was a part of the convoy, showed the convoy stranded on the road along with other vehicles.
John Kerry stuck in traffic like everyone else on wet New Delhi night. pic.twitter.com/HiQD8lQlFs
— Nicholas Wadhams (@nwadhams) August 29, 2016
Kerry's drive from the airport took two hours. More rain forecast for tomorrow! — Nicholas Wadhams (@nwadhams) August 29, 2016
Herman also posted a series of tweets highlighting the traffic situation.
Motorcade of @JohnKerry gets stuck in flooded gridlocked streets of New Delhi which was hit by heavy rain today. pic.twitter.com/msagDcy85K
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 29, 2016
Now if the @JohnKerry motorcade can only make it to the hotel. It's been an hour, so far. #India https://t.co/ddihgE6OXX — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 29, 2016
Additional forces called out to try to get @JohnKerry motorcade through Delhi traffic after more than an hour. pic.twitter.com/kWx8V7Ihgo
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 29, 2016
We and @JohnKerry finally made it to the hotel! https://t.co/GIxOVO6zrC — Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 29, 2016
Meanwhile, commuters faced severe traffic jams due to the waterlogging as well as the security arrangements made for Kerry's visit.
"We received over 150 calls about waterlogging and heavy traffic in different parts of the city. There were over 50 waterlogging points that hampered traffic movement," Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sandeep Goel told reporters.