Gurugram: Duct to divert stormwater to Najafgarh drain in works

Officials said that the construction of the 4,080-m-long drain is expected to be completed in two years

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will soon begin the construction of master drain (Leg 2) to divert stormwater to the Najafsgarh drain which is aimed at tackling flooding on agricultural fields in the city, officials said on Monday.

Officials said that the new master drain will help tackle flooding of farm fields in Gurugram during monsoon. (HT Archive)

Officials said that the construction of the 4,080-m-long drain is divided into four phases and is expected to be completed in two years.

“In the first phase, construction of the 550m portion of the drain will be done. The remaining portion of 3,580m will be constructed in the second phase.In the third and fourth phases, construction of bunds and installation of pumps and other equipment will be done,” said PC Meena, chief executive officer, GMDA.

Besides, GMDA will also construct the remaining portion of the Leg 3 drain (Badshahpur) which will not only be connected with the Leg 2 drain but will also be linked with the Najafgarh drain. While both these legs will be constructed by GMDA, the work of construction of bunds will be taken up by the Haryana water resources department of Haryana. At present, there are no bunds towards the Gurugram side of the Najafgarh drain, said officials.

Meena also said that the drains are being constructed keeping in mind the water accumulation on the farm fields along the Najafgarh drain in Gurugram.

“The construction of these drains will safeguard safeguarding the agricultural land from submergence,” said Meena.

Officials said that capacity of the Najafgarh drain has also reduced over time due to silting. “GMDA will take up the work of connecting the balance potion of both Leg 2 and Leg 3 drains with Najafgarh drain to curb the submergence of the farmers’ land. After the work of desilting in Najafgarh drain by Delhi administration is completed, the accumulated water in the agriculture area would be cleared after which construction work of Leg 2 will be taken up in Phase 1. The estimated time for connecting the Leg 2 drain to Najafgarh drain is 24 months,” Meena said.

“GMDA has initiated the tendering process and work will soon be awarded to the agency to get Phase 1 of this project in action,” said the GMDA CEO, adding that land has already been acquired for the project.

Master Stormwater Drains of Gurugram

At present, there are three drains which carry the city’s stormwater to the Najafgarh drain — Leg 1 drain (Sikanderpur via Palam Vihar to Najafgarh), Leg 2 drain (Sector 42 via Huda City Centre to Najafgarh) and Leg 3 drain (Ghata village via Vatika Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Sector 99 to Najafgarh drain), also called the Badshahpur drain. GMDA is also constructing master drain (Leg 4) along Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) from Vatika Chowk on Sohna Road to NH8 to improve the drainage network and curb any waterlogging concerns in the sectors 68-80 during the monsoon.