The Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi Government has stepped up its efforts to prevent water- logging in the city. In a meeting recently chaired by Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C) Rakesh Kumar Agrawal, on various issues, the civic body directed its senior officials to visit their respective areas during rains to check water-logging.
According to a senior official, the field units of the department were also directed to inform the centralised control room about water-logging in areas, irrespective of the jurisdiction.
“It was directed that in addition to subordinate field staff, superintendent engineers should also visit their respective sites during rains and take stock of the position by them and mobilise teams for dealing with water-logging problems. The respective MCDs should also be kept in loop while dealing with waterlogging problems,” the official said.
Every year during the monsoon season, Delhi witnessed the same problem. It further provide ideal atmosphere for mosquito breeding, resulted in dengue and chikungunia outbreak with water-logging being the 'Achilles Heel. A series of meeting has been called by Delhi Government, municipal corporations and even by lieutenant Governor on the issue of desilting.
Expert termed the approach of agencies irresponsible as authorities remain busy passing the buck to shrug off their responsibilities knowing well that vector-borne diseases proliferate during rainy season as water accumulates in part of the city owing to choked drains. The multiple civic agencies responsible for maintaining drains have once again failed to synchronise their efforts to desilt drains before monsoon, they claimed.
last month, in order to control flood by coordinated efforts among various agencies, the Delhi Government took several measures to prevent water-logging in the Capital. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had called for setting up of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to clean the city's drains and prevent waterlogging on roads in the national Capital.
Sisodia had said the process of cleaning the drains being used by the PWD and the MCDs in most of the cases was very “primitive”. He had also said garbage from drains was kept by the road and was then taken away when it dried up; adding that in the process a part of the garbage again went back into the drain.
However, officials of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation said 90 per cent desilting work has been done and 50 per cent of dry silt is lifted. “The remaining will be taken away as soon as possible,” he said. While officials of the north and South Corporation claimed that more than 90 percent of desilting works is completed in their areas.
A senior SDMC official said that officials have been directed to focus on areas such as Dhansa Road at Najafgarh, Sangam Vihar, lajpat Nagar underpass, Kushak Nallah, Sunhari Nallah, Mehrauli, Defence Colony, where waterlogging commonly occurs every year.