PWD maps 448 waterlogging hot spots ahead of monsoon

Ahead of monsoon, Delhi's PWD identifies 448 waterlogging hotspots, assigning officers for accountability and implementing preventive measures.

Ahead of the monsoon season, the Public Works Department (PWD) has identified 448 waterlogging-prone locations across Delhi and assigned a designated engineering officer to each site, warning of disciplinary action in the event of persistent flooding at their assigned location during the rains, according to an official order issued on Tuesday.

The department has appointed “responsible officers” and “reviewing officers” for each location across east, south and north zones of the city. (Hindustan Times)

The order said the vulnerable points were identified jointly by the PWD and Delhi Traffic Police based on data from the last three years. “During the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, PWD and Delhi Traffic Police identified 448 waterlogging points across Delhi,” it said, including 177 points from 2025, 147 from 2024 and 124 from 2023.

The department has appointed “responsible officers” and “reviewing officers” for each location across east, south and north zones of the city. “In the event of any occurrence of waterlogging or flooding at the assigned locations, the concerned Responsible Officer and/or Reviewing Officer shall be liable for disciplinary action, as deemed appropriate,” said the order.

Some of the stretches included under this plan were in Burari, such as 100 Foot Road and Sant Nagar Marg; around Pragati Maidan and Bhairon Marg, the Tilak Bridge and BSZ Marg intersection near ITO; as well as on Azad Market Road, Kashmere Gate, Minto Bridge, Ring Road near ISBT, Rajghat and IP Flyover.

Officials said each location has been mapped to a specific executive engineer, assistant engineer and junior engineer along with contact details to enable quicker response during heavy rainfall. Additionally, cameras have also been set up at all these locations for 24-hour surveillance through a command and control centre that will be made operational by June at the PWD headquarters in ITO.

A senior PWD official said the department has begun pre-monsoon desilting of drains and inspections of pumping stations at vulnerable stretches. “The focus this year is accountability and real-time response. Officers have been specifically assigned locations so that preventive measures such as drain cleaning, pump deployment and clearance of bottlenecks are completed before heavy rain begins,” the official said.

Delhi witnesses severe waterlogging during intense monsoon spells almost every year, disrupting traffic and public transport movement across major arterial roads. In previous monsoon seasons, areas around Minto Bridge, Pragati Maidan tunnel, ITO, Ring Road near Yamuna floodplains, Pul Prahladpur, Azad Market, under Zakhira flyover and parts of east Delhi saw long traffic snarls after heavy rainfall.

Last year, several stretches in central, south and north Delhi remained inundated for hours following intense showers, with commuters stranded on roads and vehicular movement affected across key corridors. The flooding of the Pragati Maidan tunnel and water accumulation near underpasses and flyovers had also triggered criticism over the city’s drainage preparedness.

The PWD, which maintains around 1,400km of arterial roads in Delhi, undertakes annual desilting drives and deployment of pumps before the onset of the southwest monsoon. Civic agencies including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi government departments also coordinate flood-control and drainage operations during the rainy season.