PWD: Inundated Pragati Maidan tunnel to open today

The Pragati Maidan tunnel remained shut for traffic a second day on Monday as the crucial facility, that caters to a large volume of traffic between east Delhi and central Delhi, remained flooded

The Public Works Department (PWD) on Monday alleged that the Pragati Maidan tunnel is inundated with rainwater after the private developer constructing the nearby Pragati Maidan dumped stormwater into the facility. The department has filed a police complaint against the developer concerned, officials aware of the development said.

The closed Pragati maidan Tunnel due to water logging and maintenance work after the rain in New Delhi on Monday. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The Pragati Maidan tunnel remained shut for traffic a second day on Monday as the crucial facility, that caters to a large volume of traffic between east Delhi and central Delhi, remained flooded. PWD officials said the tunnel is likely to be reopened for traffic by Tuesday morning.

A senior PWD official said, “The Pragati Maidan tunnel has a large design capacity and can handle much water. However, one entry/exit of the tunnel opens directly inside the Pragati Maidan parking area, which hardly has any drainage. As a result, the water from the flooded Pragati Maidan premises was simply let out into the tunnel. We also got to know that on Sunday, rainwater containing silt and construction debris was pumped into the tunnel.”

HT reached out to the developer, but its officials did not respond to requests for comment.

A second PWD official said that the tunnel is designed to handle a large amount of rainfall, with seven high-capacity sumps fixed with automatic pumps allowing the facility to drain around 950 litres of water per second. “However, it is bound to overflow if, right after unprecedented high rainfall, muddy water is also being pumped inside the tunnel,” the second official said.

The official said that a complaint has been filed at the Tilak Marg police station, though police did not confirm this.