Dense fog in Delhi disrupts rail, road, air traffic

Air, rail and road traffic was severely affected in New Delhi on Monday as dense fog reduced the visibility to almost zero. According to senior officials of the Indian Metrological Department, the disruption is likely to continue for a few more days. There is little hope of the weather improving and it is likely to hit traffic in Delhi and neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, officials said.

The promises made by the civil aviation ministry to install zero visibility landing systems at major airports has fallen flat yet again. On Monday, 13 flights operating on international and domestic circuits from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport were either cancelled or rescheduled for take off in the afternoon leaving hundreds of fliers stranded.  

Officials from the civil aviation ministry were reluctant to comment on the cancellations. A senior journalist told redif.com that it took him more than an hour and a half to drive through the dense fog only to find out that his flight had been cancelled.

Indian railways cancelled more then 24 trains because of poor visibility. Those that were not cancelled were running six to seven hours behind schedule.

Most major roads in the capital witnessed bumper-to-bumper traffic leading to huge snarls. The Delhi metro services were also disrupted.