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A palm tree trunk fell on cars during dust storm in New Delhi, on Sunday. (PTI)[/caption]
New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): A powerful storm on Sunday evening almost crippled two major Delhi Metro lines and affected a third, stranding thousands and forcing the transporter to later run the trains on shorter routes.
The storm, with wind speeds of up to 70 km per hour accompanied by rains, forced the suspension of Metro services in at least three places on the sprawling network, a spokesman for Delhi Metro Rail Corp said.
The disruptions took place because trees got toppled and hit and damaged overhead wires on the winding Blue Line and the equally busy Violet Line, the spokesman told IANS. The Magenta Line was also hit.
Commuters were faced with extended halts at various stations and were asked to empty the trains midway across the entire Blue Line, which links Dwarka in west Delhi with Vaishali and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
On the Violet Line, trains ran on short loops from Sarita Vihar to Escorts Mujesar and Nehru Place to Kashmere Gate from 5 pm to 5:40 pm.
The Blue Line services were suspended between Inderprashtha and Karol Bagh, forcing people to take other forms of transport.
Delhi Metro said the overhead damage was repaired and trains began normal services by 6:30 pm.
But some people IANS spoke to complained of long waits at the Blue Line stations till 7:30 p.m. due to piled up passenger load.
Although only two lines were majorly disrupted, the services were affected across the city and its neighbourhood since the trains link up with other lines at select points.
Delhi Metro transports about 27 to 30 lakh passengers a day.
Over 40 flights diverted from Delhi due to dust storm
More than 40 incoming flights were diverted from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here on Sunday evening following a powerful dust storm and rains, officials said.
An IGIA official said the diversions took place between 4.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.
"More than 40 flights have been diverted and some outbound flights have been delayed as well due to the weather," the official told IANS.
The official cited poor visibility and strong winds for the disruption in operations.
A dust storm with wind speeds of up to 70 km per hour hit the capital and neighbouring areas, seriously disrupting road traffic and Metro services.
