Desilting stuck in trifurcation, city staring at monsoon jams

Be prepared to wade through flooded roads this monsoon. In the rush to trifurcate the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, officials of the civic agency lost their focus on desilting drains.

Be prepared to wade through flooded roads this monsoon. In the rush to trifurcate the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), officials of the civic agency lost their focus on desilting drains.

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The three corporations are responsible for providing civic services to 96% of Delhi’s population. With the monsoon due to arrive in the Capital on June 29, there’s very little time left to finish desilting work.

According to official figures, it took the unified MCD eight months to desilt 60% of the drains and now, with less than two months left for the monsoon, the three new corporations are staring at the impossible task of desilting another 40%.

The task involves desilting 3,287 four-feet-deep drains along a total of 1,505 km.

Mahender Nagpal, the new NDMC leader of the house, said, “Work was put to a stop during the elections. We’ve started work but it is a huge task.”