Despite the national Capital witnessing watterlogging every year, the municipal corporations and the Public Works Department (PWD) are not able to tackle the issues due to poor drainage system.
According to officials, the city lacks high intensity drainage system, which can discharge the entire run off thus resulting into waterlogging.
“In case of heavy rain, it is unavoidable for some time as drains are not designed for heavy rains and take some time to discharge water,” said SK Shrivastava, Principal Secretary, PWD.
Yogendra Singh Mann, EDMC and NDMC Director (Press and Information), said, “The drainage system is quite old and needs a revamp. However, we have taken all steps in our capacity.”
He told The Pioneer that a master plan for the revamp of drainage system announced by former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is being framed by the Delhi Government and will take time to come into action.
Meanwhile, both MCD and PWD have also not come up with anything new to tackle Waterlogging issues. As of now, it is only busy with the routine work even after being aware of the fact that the city is going to witnesses a substantial rainfall.
“Under East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), we only have internal roads of the city, so we will not be able to tackle the entire problem of waterlogging. However, desilting process has been completed and our target is complete but the only concern is floating material like polythene which creates a hindrance in the proper flow of drains,” he added.
According to NDMC and EDMC, they have cleaned up 37,475 and 9,004 metric tonnes of silt, respectively. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has also said to have removed 31,000 metric tonnes of silt from the drains.
The staff has been directed to be alert and remain in field when there are rains in order to tackle the situation and take immediate action.”
Mukesh Yadav, SDMC Director (Press and Information) said, “We have completed around 98 per cent of desilting process. We have also deployed pumps and manpower in low lying areas.” While the MCD claimed to have finished the desilting process, major drains coming under PWD areas like AIIMS and Barapullah have not been desilted.
However, the PWD claimed to have cleared the drains along the roads coming under it and has deployed pumps in low lying and other vulnerable areas. Round the clock vigil is being maintained and emergency staff is ready to ensure that there is no waterlogging on PWD roads.
While the citizens are gearing up for a heavy monsoon, the issue of mosquito breeding will also come up. For this, the MCD will continue with the fumigation process but on a low scale considering the health hazards involved.
“Mostly, the mosquito breeding is inhouse, so we will be using pithoo pumps for the fogging process and will create awareness. Nodal officers are being made aware on how to control the situation in their respective areas where the mosquito breeding is high. Mosquito repelling granules are available which people can take from MCD offices,” added Yogendra Mann Singh.
Meanwhile, the EDMC and NDMC have also launched a new toll free helpline number where citizens can register their complaints.
The civic bodies have also intensified efforts to combat vector-borne diseases. A toll-free helpline number to help those suffering from dengue - 1800112260 - has been launched by the South civic body to provide information about the disease.