Noida authority begins desilting city’s largest drain to avoid waterlogging

Health dept told to finish cleaning drain in 3 months so that residents don’t face problem in monsoon; Last year, a five-hour downpour had thrown life out of gear as the irrigation drain was choked with silt, plastic and other waste

The Noida authority on Tuesday said that it has decided to desilt Noida’s main irrigation drain that cuts the city into two well in advance so that it does not lead to waterlogging during rainy season.

Waterlogging could take place during the monsoon if the 17km irrigation drain is not cleaned of plastic, filth, rubble and other waste that block the way of water. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

In July 2017, during rainy season, 17km irrigation drain was badly choked with rainwater leading to severe waterlogging in the city, particularly in residential areas.

Noida authority additional chief executive officer RK Mishra has directed the health department to finish cleaning the drain in the next three months so that in the rainy season residents do not face any problems.

“We started desilting work on February 21. We have directed the staff to finish the job in the next three months. Our motive is that irrigation drain should not get choked unlike last year. We will ensure all sorts of waste that include plastic bags and filth is cleaned properly,” said Mishra.

The authority has allocated ₹5 crore budget for desilting work.

Waterlogging could take place during monsoon if this 17km-long drain is not cleaned of plastic, filth, rubble and other sort of waste that block the way of water, said officials. There are total 14 big drains, including the irrigation one, in Noida. These 13 drains are connected to the irrigation drain that empties into river Yamuna in Sector 150.

In July 2017, a four- to five-hour downpour had thrown life out of gear as the irrigation drain was choked with silt, plastic and other waste. Water had then entered into many houses and traffic crawled for four to five hours on all major roads.

“In 2017, the Noida authority had claimed that it had cleaned all drains, including the irrigation one. But when it rained heavily, most of the residential areas were badly waterlogged belying the tall claims of the
preparedness of the authority. We hope that this time around, there will be no waterlogging,” said Mahesh Rana, a resident of Sector 34.

The authority’s health department said that it will ensure that waterlogging does not take place during the rainy season.