Noida waterlogged as authority scrambles to clean main drain

Most of the low-lying sectors in Noida are waterlogged since Sunday when it started raining as the Noida authority is yet to clean the main irrigation drain ahead

Most of the low-lying sectors in Noida are waterlogged since Sunday when it started raining as the Noida authority is yet to clean the main irrigation drain ahead of the monsoon. Tuesday’s showers did not cause much inconvenience as it was not as heavy as on Sunday.

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After missing the June-end deadline to clean the drain, the Noida authority on Tuesday started the de-silting work on war footing, but by then most areas have been inundated since Sunday when it began raining.

“On Sunday, it rained heavily and led to severe water-logging, exposing once again the Noida authority’s tall claims that it had de-silted big and small drains to ensure that no water-logging takes place this monsoon. Rain water entered houses in sectors 28, 29, 31, 34 and 12, among other low lying areas. The sad part is that the authority is yet to de-silt the main irrigation drain that causes water-logging as it remain choked with plastic and silt,” said Sanjeev Kumar, Sector 51 residents’ welfare association and vice-president of the Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association (FONRWA).

The 17km Irrigation drain, also known as Kondli drain, begins from Delhi’s Ashok Nagar and merges with Yamuna at Sector 168 after passing through multiple residential sectors in Noida. the city’s smaller drains are connected to this main drain that carries sewage as well as storm water from Delhi and Noida areas.

Slum clusters and vendors throw plastic and other kinds of waste into the drain causing it to choke and thereby causing water-logging in the city.

“Most drains that empty into irrigation drain are full of filth, plastic waste and mud due to poor cleaning. When it rained heavily on Sunday, the rain water could not drain away into Yamuna and instead caused water-logging, to the extent that water entered several houses in low-lying areas,” said Arun Singh, a resident of Sector 34.

There are 75 main drains and 44 small drains across Noida, which works to about 300km of drain length that the authority has to maintain. The authority started de-silting of drains on June 9 with a deadline to finish the job by end-June. But the cleaning work could not be finished within the stipulated deadline due to a delay in tendering amid the Covid 19 pandemic, said the Noida authority officials.

“Every year, the Noida authority has the same excuse -- that the tenders got delayed. It spends a huge amount on cleaning drains but water-logging still ends up troubling residents,” said NP Singh, president, Gautam Budh Nagar district development RWAs (DDRWAs).

The Noida authority has sanctioned ₹5 crore this year to de-silt the irrigation drain and a similar amount is spent annually for cleaning this drain.

“It will take 20 more days to clean the irrigation drain and the work is on in full swing. We aim to de-silt it by August 10. Water-logging took place on Sunday because the irrigation drain was choked. But we had properly cleaned all smaller drains. We have also placed pumps to empty out the water from 25 low-lying areas. I am sure residents will not witness water-logging in the future as our staff are on standby,” said SC Mishra, senior project engineer, Noida authority.