Amid heavy rains predicted for the national Capital till Tuesday, civic bodies have intensified manpower and equipment deployment to tackle waterlogging, while keeping field units on high alert
Delhi was brought to its knees on Friday morning as 228.1 mm of rainfall on the first day of monsoon, the highest for the month of June since 1936, submerged several parts of the city and claimed multiple lives. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rains in Delhi and has put the city on "orange alert" till July 2.
An official in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said the civic body has ramped up manpower deployment to handle waterlogging complaints and is monitoring areas under Lutyens' Delhi through CCTV cameras.
On Friday, the upscale Lutyens' Delhi area witnessed a flood-like situation as water entered the bungalows of many MPs. NDMC Vice-Chairman Satish Upadhyay said they have deployed four additional pumps on a standby basis at Golf Links and Bharti Nagar which witnessed excessive waterlogging on Friday.
"Three super suction machines mounted on vehicles will keep patrolling the vulnerable areas. We have also deployed additional staff and cancelled the offs of all employees. Each vulnerable area has been placed under one superintending engineer who has staffers with them to address issues. The NDMC central command and control room will monitor all vulnerable areas through CCTV cameras," Upadhyay said.
According to the NDMC, superintending engineers are now overseeing operations at vulnerable points to ensure timely interventions. "We will ensure 24-hour monitoring through CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras are in place for continuous monitoring of vulnerable areas," another official said.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has put its field units on high alert to deal with any such situation. A senior official of the civic body said their central control room is functioning round the clock and claimed that the desilting of drains has been completed.
He added that mobile pumps, super sucker machines, earth movers and other machines have been deployed at various locations where waterlogging was reported through dedicated 24x7 zonal control rooms of the MCD.
"In total, 72 permanent pumping stations are working as per requirement. Additionally, 465 mobile/submersible pumps of different capacities were made available to clear waterlogging. Manpower was adequately deployed also in tandem with machines for quick and sustained release of water," he said.
"As part of the monsoon action plan, all arrangements have been made and field units are put on high alert to tackle the situation," the official added.
