I don’t know if you came in boats, Kerry tells IIT audience

New Delhi, August 31

“I don’t know if you came in boats...but I salute you,” said a smiling US Secretary of State John Kerry to a packed audience at IIT, Delhi, after his carcade was once again stuck in Delhi traffic as heavy rains led to waterlogging on roads.

“You guys deserve an award for being able to get here today. I don’t know if you came in boats or amphibious vehicles of some kind. But I salute you,” said Kerry, who was forced to cancel his trip to three religious sites on Wednesday in the city after incessant rains in the national capital.

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The Secretary of State was 40 minutes late for the event at the IIT as his carcade waded through the waterlogged roads from his hotel, otherwise a 15-minute ride.

On Monday, on his way to a hotel from the airport, the US Secretary of State was stuck for almost an hour in traffic due to waterlogged roads.

Kerry was supposed to visit the Sisganj Gurdwara, Gaurishankar Temple and the Jama Masjid in the national capital after his IIT event, but that programme was cancelled.

The underpass near Kerry’s hotel--Leela Palace--was heavily flooded, leading to a massive traffic jam. PTI