NDMC plan to prevent waterlogging around G20 summit meetings in Delhi

New Delhi Municipal Council has taken steps to prevent waterlogging in Lutyens' Delhi ahead of the G20 summit, including placing additional portable pumps and carrying out desilting work in drains. Five vulnerable points have been identified where waterlogging was rampant.

The New Delhi Municipal Council on Thursday shared a series of steps it has taken to prevent waterlogging in and around Lutyens’ Delhi in early September, ahead of the G20 summit scheduled to be held in the Capital.

Several areas in Delhi were waterlogged after the rise in water level in the Yamuna. (Sanchit Hindustan Times)

NDMC vice-chairperson Satish Upadhyay said that after the city recorded heavy rainfall in July, the council identified vulnerable areas and increased its resources to tackle waterlogging.

“More than 100 additional portable pumps have been placed in various locations including Lodhi Estate, Bharti Nagar, Golf Links, and Dayal Singh College. Control rooms and operational teams have been established to ensure the smooth functioning of these pumps, and fresh desilting work has been carried out in drains,” said Upadhyay.

The council identified five vulnerable points where waterlogging was rampant — Africa Avenue, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Panchkuian Road near Connaught Place, Purana Quila Road near Mathura Road, and Lodhi Estate.

“At least 185-horsepower pumps have been fixed in addition to the 56-horsepower portable pumps with operating staff round-the-clock to drain out the accumulated water from the local drain,” an NDMC official said.

Large parts of the New Delhi area were inundated last month with images of waterlogging at Connaught Place, Kartavya Path, and Janpath, being widely shared on social media websites. The July deluge also caused waterlogging in the residences of senior bureaucrats and judges in Lodhi Estate, Maharishi Raman Marg and Max Mueller Marg. The council was also forced to cut off electricity in some areas to prevent leakage.

“The council has added portable electrical submersible pumps to pump out stagnated water directly into the manholes,” the official added.

NDMC area is spread over 42.7 sq km with a resident population of 0.25 million and a floating population of 1.6-2 million per day.

The region covers 578m of covered drains, 11,907 manholes, and over 14,264 gully gratings and bellmouths. The main drainage barrel number 9 runs from Panchkuian Road, Outer CP circle, passing along KG Marg, India Gate towards Khan Market, meeting the MCD open drain near Dyal Singh College, and then ending up in Yamuna.