The Arvind Kejriwal government on Tuesday claimed that the Delhi government is working round the clock to ensure no waterlogging this monsoon season. 

PWD Minister Atishi, Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj and Delhi Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammed Iqbal held a joint review meeting on Tuesday with the officials of the Public Works Department (PWD), Irrigation and Flood Control Department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Jal Board, New Delhi Municipal Counil, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Cantonment Board to take stock of the preparations for the monsoon.

 During the meeting, they assessed the current situation across the capital and discussed potential solutions. The meeting focused on key areas such as the desilting of drains, construction of new drains, identification of water logging hotspots and creating a control room for monitoring waterlogging incidents, with an emphasis on ensuring seamless coordination across various departments.

Atishi instructed the officials to assess the situation after rains now and hold joint inspections at waterlogging hotspots.

“The focus should be laid on mitigating waterlogging in these areas with micro-level planning. PWD will work as a nodal agency, and the department’s central control room will monitor waterlogged areas 24*7 through CCTV,” she said.

During the meeting, PWD officials said that PWD has installed 128 pump houses, which have over 700 pumps. Of them, 11 pump houses are fully automatic and start operating automatically as the water level rises, using sensors. 

They said that PWD has marked 165 areas with waterlogging problems, and preparations are underway to address their needs and tackle waterlogging issues. In addition to this, PWD will establish control rooms at 10 other locations.

The Flood and Control department informed that there are a total of 57 drains in Delhi under it with a total length of approximately 382 kilometers.

To clean these drains, 53 machines have been deployed by the department. As of April 30, 2023, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department has already carried out 5,65,371 metric tons of desilting work. The remaining desilting work on the drains will also be completed soon.

The MCD informed that desilting of all small and large drains will be completed by June 15th.

Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj  directed DJB officials to complete the distilling of all sewage lines and drains before the monsoon.

He added that in addition, alarms have been installed in sewage pumping stations (SPS) built in various parts of Delhi to alert officials of the Delhi Jal Board of any water overflow or malfunction.