1500 rainwater harvesting pits to curb waterlogging in Delhi

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Public Works Department, the Delhi Jal Board, the Delhi Development Authority, the irrigation and flood control department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.

New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said more 1,500 new rainwater harvesting pits will be ready by July 15 to curb flooding of roads during monsoon as well as recharge the groundwater table.

Waterlogged streets in Dellhi (S Verma/HT Photo)

According to private weather forecasters, monsoon may reach Delhi by June 30.

“Work is going on a war footing ahead of the rainy season to save the rainwater in Delhi. With an aim to make Delhi self-sufficient for water, 1,548 new rainwater harvesting pits will be readied by July 15. Reviewed the ongoing work on these with all the nodal agencies,” Sisodia tweeted after holding a meeting with officials to review measures being taken to prevent waterlogging ahead of the rainy season.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Public Works Department, the Delhi Jal Board, the Delhi Development Authority, the irrigation and flood control department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.

An old drainage system, lack of adequate cleaning of drains and broken roads cause massive waterlogging on road every year during monsoon.

Delhi LG VK Saxena also held a joint meeting with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Sisodia and a battery of top officials from all key departments such as the chief secretary, the MCD special officer and others to review monsoon preparedness. Both the LG and the CM issued a slew of directions on Wednesday to devise comprehensive long-term measures to deal with waterlogging and overflowing drains.

As for a long-term to tackle the problem, the LG and the CM agreed upon a comprehensive study to find ways through which excess water could be transported to natural/artificial pits, depressions and low lying areas in the city to store it. The LG and CM also directed officials to come up with a time-bound plan for laying alternate pipelines for storm water drainage.

They instructed that the drainage master plan that has been pending for years should be expeditiously finalised with the help of experts and domain specific agencies.