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Kejriwal announces immediate steps to mitigate waterlogging crisis in Delhi
680 pumps, including 100 mobile pumps, have been deployed, in addition to 326 supplementary pumps, to clear water from roads
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced a series of interventions to fix potholes, clear flooded roads, clear traffic jams, investigate the reasons behind road cave ins, in addition to impose a temporary ban on ongoing construction works to keep the roads clean, measures announced in the wake of widespread mayhem caused by heavy rains in Delhi.
Underpasses and roads, including the Pragati Maidan tunnel, markets and residential colonies across the city were inundated, and almost all major arterial roads witnessed traffic jams as Delhi received over 250mm rain since Saturday.
Kejriwal said in the last couple of years Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have witnessed record rainfall. “Between July 8 and 9, in a 24-hour period, there was 153mm of rainfall in Delhi. It is for the first time in 40 years that we have had such heavy rainfall in the city. The last time it rained so much was in 1982 when the city received 169 mm rain in 24 hours. Unfortunately, the drainage system in the city is not designed to handle such rainfall. This is the reason that the residents of Delhi have had to face problems,” the chief minister said. He added that all government officials, MLAs (from all political parties), and members of several organisations are working round the clock to help citizens.
“However, unfortunately, the problem is so big that irrespective of all out collective efforts, they are proving inadequate. But we are all working hard to solve the issues,” Kejriwal said.
Delhi is yet to update a drainage master plan that was designed in 1976. Then lieutenant governor Tejender Khanna in 2009 asked the civic agencies to prepare a new master plan. But no progress was made. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government initiated steps to prepare a new drainage plan in 2021 with the appointment of Public Works Department (PWD) as the nodal agency. In 2022, the Delhi government announced appointment of two consultants. However, the plan stays a work in progress as the Capital continues to battle rampant waterlogging every year during monsoon.
Kejriwal also gave details of steps being taken to clear inundated roads and underpasses. He said that 680 pumps, including 100 mobile pumps, have been deployed, in addition to 326 supplementary pumps, to clear water from roads.
He added that potholes will be temporarily filled with stones and bricks, and added that staff has been told to clean garbage obstructing drains so that water clears out soon. He said that Delhi Traffic Police has been asked to deploy additional personnel at vulnerable points throughout the city to avoid traffic snarls.
Kejriwal pointed out that even the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas have witnessed waterlogging this year, referring to the unprecedented situation. “Our intention is not to blame anyone, but this time the rainfall has been so intense that even the NDMC areas, which are also referred to as the ‘VVIP areas’, have been waterlogged badly. We have requested the NDMC to study the problem and come up with solutions so that in future such issues do not recur,” Kejriwal said.
NDMC vice chairperson Satish Upadhyay said that chief minister should worry about the performance of MCD and PWD and NDMC is more than capable of taking care of its area. “The flooding in NDMC areas was observed due to an MCD drain near Dyal Singh College. CM should worry about the pathetic of roads and rains under PWD and their jurisdiction. We are already taking care of NDMC areas,” he added.
Delhi PWD minister Atishi, water, irrigation and flood control minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and MCD mayor Shelly Oberoi were also present in the press conference.
Former PWD engineer-in-chief, Sarvagya Srivastava, said Delhi witnessed excessive rainfall in the past couple of days and such heavy rain in a short span of time can overwhelm the drainage system of cities even in the developed countries. “The drainage infrastructure of the capital has been designed for the optimum and not maximum. However, better de-silting of the drainage network would have blunted its effect,” Srivastava said.
Potholes
Unpaved potholes across the city have worsened due to heavy rain. A large pothole, near ITO bus stand on Vikas Marg, on the carriageway towards DDU Marg, led to traffic jams on the stretch. On Sunday, a portion of a road in Rohini collapsed causing a sinkhole.
Harjinder Saroha, a resident of Vasant Kunj, complained about multiple potholes in Sector C. “When these potholes are filled with water during rain, they can lead to accidents. The authorities should take immediate action,” said Saroha.
Kejriwal said since permanent repairs cannot be taken up during heavy rain, potholes will be filled up bricks and stones as a temporary measure. “At the moment, we cannot repair these potholes as it is still raining, but we can temporarily fill up these potholes with bricks. The opening of drains are often clogged with litter. So, so we have told our staff to ensure that they are free of litter and water continues to flow through the drain. We have also taken a decision to temporarily stop construction work so that roads stay clear of construction material,” Kejriwal said.
On Monday, the Delhi Traffic Police flagged 13 major waterlogging locations including Pragti Maidan tunnel, Zakhira to Moti Nagar, Boulevard Road in front of Tis Hazari court, Railway under bridge at Azad Market, Ghazipur dairy, Najafgarh Road and Ring Road near Nigam Bodh Ghat among others.
Traffic chaos
Traffic snarls were reported from across the city on Monday as all underpasses and the Pragati Maidan tunnel stayed shut for traffic. Kejriwal said the government has asked the traffic police to ensure that people do not take abrupt U-turns to avoid waterlogged stretch since it causes major disruption. “Often, vehicles take U-turns illegally to avoid waterlogged stretches, and in the process hit the traffic flow on both carriageways. We have asked the traffic police to deploy personnel at all vulnerable points and ensure that there are no jams in the city,” he said.
The traffic police said they were posting regular updates on their social media handles to alert commuters about disruptions. “We have told all unit heads to mobilise maximum staff, including patrol teams and disaster management vehicles to ensure management of traffic at all intersections. The concerned civic agencies such as PWD, MCD, and NDMC were being alerted about waterlogging spots. Traffic congestion reported on Monday from various parts of the city was mainly on account of waterlogging, potholes and uprooting of trees,” said special commissioner of police (Traffic) SS Yadav.
Opposition hits out at govt
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Delhi government neglected de-silting of drains which is leading to widespread flooding. “The chief minister has claimed that 680 pumps were working in the capital, then he should explain why the situation became so dire. The truth is that corruption was done in the name of installing drainage pumps,” Sachdeva alleged.
