'If the downpour for four hours showed up the civic authorities' total unpreparedness what would happen if we had a regular monsoon?' queried Anuj Singh, a scientist, who was stuck for five hours on the road connecting Delhi to Noida.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit, probably realising that she would be in the firing line after the rains virtually paralysed the city, evaded the media at a function and left quietly from the back door.

'People must welcome the rains,' was all that Dikshit said, refusing to take any other questions.

The Delhi Police on their part refused to accept responsibility for the faulty traffic signals, which in many places went kaput, leading to chaos on the roads and a free-for -all that caused even more disorder.

Joint Commissioner (Traffic) S.N. Shrivastava told IANS: 'Why are people blaming traffic cops? What can we do when the entire road is submerged under water and has developed potholes? I along with my team were manning the traffic till 2 a.m., completely drenched.'

'I can only advise people that when it is raining they need to exercise patience and follow traffic rules to avoid hold-ups. The problem arose especially in central Delhi as traffic came head on leading to chaos.'

When asked about who was to be blamed for the problem, Shrivastava said: 'All stakeholders in the city should play an active role and look into the matter, for we are preparing to hold the Commonwealth Games.'