Day after squall damage, clean-up on in Delhi's Lutyens’ zone

Trucks and manpower from MCD was brought in to clear arterial roads in the Lutyens’ zone and the operation continued till Tuesday evening.

A large operation was launched on Tuesday by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to clear roads in the Lutyens’ zone a day after more than a hundred trees fell when an intense spell of rain with wind speeds reaching 100km/hr hit central Delhi.

Workers clear the HC Mathur lane near Connaught Place on Tuesday. (ARVIND YADAV/HT)

NDMC officials on Tuesday said that more than 102 trees have been uprooted and 1,058 damaged branches have been cleared from the area even as complaints related to fallen tree continued to pour from other parts of the city with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) helplines getting 155 complaints.

Trucks and manpower from MCD was brought in to clear arterial roads in the Lutyens’ zone and the operation continued till Tuesday evening. Traffic was gridlocked on all roads in the zone, including KG Marg, Ashoka Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Janpath, Sansad Marg and Akbar Road with fallen trees blocking the way.

NDMC officials said that they plan to study the cause of the large scale uprooting of the trees and added that they will take measures to compensate the damage to the greenery in the area. The council members have also recommended a coordination group for quick response in the event of such natural disasters in the future.

Satish Upadhyay, NDMC vice-chairman, said that the workers were on the site to remove trees and branches from the roads. “Over a thousand employees comprising NDMC’s horticulture, health, and civil engineering departments have been pressed in action for the clean-up operations. Apart from the NDMC, other organisations such as NDRF, MCD, NBCC, NHAI, and the disaster management department are also deploying their staff and providing assistance to clear the area,” he added.

An NDMC official said that around 800 field workers from NDMC were pressed in action on Monday and 500 workers were operating in the night shift.

Upadhyay said that it is the primary duty of the municipal council to clear the roads and prevent traffic congestion. “So far, approximately 100 trees have fallen and 1,058 fallen branches were removed by the NDMC. The major areas where trees broke and the traffic hampered included Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place, Barakhamba Road, Lodhi Colony, Tolstoy Marg, Mandir Marg and Talkatora Stadium among others,” he added.

According to the preliminary report prepared by NDMC horticulture wing, Neem, Imli, Arjun, Kusum, Semal, Peepal, Keekar, Jamun, Keekar, Pilkhan, Bargad and Eucalyptus were among the tree species that were damaged during Monday’s squall.

Kuljeet Singh Chahal, a memger of the council, said that 10 trees will be planted to compensate for each fallen tree. “We have also recommended to constitute a ‘Quick Response Team’ and a committee to study the causes behind uprooting of trees or damage to the greenery. A coordination group will be set up for immediate response after such type of incidents or disasters in the upcoming monsoon,” he added.

Talking about tree damage in other areas, an MCD official said, “155 complaints of fallen tree were received between 9pm on Monday till 3pm on Tuesday at the corporation’s zonal control rooms. Areas from where these complaints were registered included Défence Colony, Ajmeri Gate, Darya Ganj, Naraina, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Friends Colony, Jangpura, Azadpur, Civil Lines, Jama Masjid, Vikaspuri, Saket, Sundar Nagri, Anand Vihar, Mayur Vihar and others,” the official said.

The wood recovered from the fallen trees and branches are likely to end up in the city crematoriums or public auction sites. A senior MCD horticulture department official said that the standard practice is that branches are sent to the cremation grounds and the bigger logs of wood are auctioned at MCD stores.