Monsoon misery — why still a surprise?

Annual affair: The arrival of the monsoon every year seems to be a source of wonder to municipal authorities in India; without fail they are caught by surprise by an event that a child could predict. — AFP

FOR as long as any Delhi’ite can remember, the road under Minto Bridge leading from Connaught Circus to the New Delhi railway station gets waterlogged after every heavy downpour, as it did last Sunday, leading to a bus being submerged and passengers having to be rescued.

Considered a heritage structure, having been constructed in the 1930s, the bridge is jointly maintained by the railways and the New Delhi Municipal Council, and has sometimes been described as a celebration of decay.