LG Saxena takes stock of choked drains in Delhi

A day after torrential rain submerged several parts of the Capital, lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Saturday inspected the drains at Taimoor Nagar, Barapulla drain, ITPO, Tilak Bridge, Kushak Nallah, Golf Links and Bharti Nagar and found all of them to be heavily choked with garbage, debris and sludge. He directed officials to deploy additional pumps at waterlogging hot spots and asked the agencies concerned to remove all garbage from the drains within four days, and also submit reports to him with photo and video evidence. He also warned of taking action against erring officials, officials from LG office aware of the matter said.

The directions came a day after LG cancelled leaves of officials and directed a series of actions to be taken on a war footing to tide over the issue and ensure that the city is prepared to deal with similar situations during the upcoming monsoon season.

“LG today inspected some of the most severely affected drains and areas that include Taimoor Nagar, Barapulla drain, ITPO, Tilak Bridge, Kushak Nallah, Golf Links and Bharti Nagar and directed the agencies concerned to carry out desilting of drains on a war footing. He directed the agencies to make the water drainage system fool-proof so as to avert the recurrence of such incidents in future,” LG office said in a statement.

Very heavy rainfall in a short period of time on Friday led to severe waterlogging in different parts of Delhi, affecting thousands of people. Delhi water minister Atishi said that for the first time since 1936, the Capital received 228mm of rain in 24 hours, which is around 25% of the total monsoon rainfall (800 mm) in Delhi, leading to waterlogging in several places.

On Saturday, LG was accompanied by senior Delhi government officials, including chief secretary Naresh Kumar. Saxena expressed displeasure that none of the major drains were desilted and cleaned as part of monsoon preparations, which led to heavy accumulation of chest-deep water in several parts of the city. He also spotted encroachments along the drains and asked officials to remove them immediately.

LG first inspected the Taimoor Nagar drain, the flooding of which affected several areas, including Okhla, Taimoor Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Jasola, Bharat Nagar, Jamia Nagar, New Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, on Friday. The Taimoor Nagar drain, maintained by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, was heavily choked by a huge quantity of silt and garbage, which prevented the water from flowing down, LG office said.

Union minister and East Delhi MP Harsh Malhotra and New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj also accompanied LG during the inspections in their respective areas.

LG also reviewed ITPO and Tilak Bridge drains, which are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD), where he found that garbage and debris clogged the drains that resulted in backflow of water and subsequent flooding of the entire stretch around ITO on Friday affecting traffic movement.

“LG also visited Kushak Nallah opposite Dayal Singh College, Golf Links drain and Bharti Nagar where the locals complained of choked drains and sewer lines. LG directed NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) officials to immediately get desilting of the drains done and deploy additional pumps as and when required, to clear waterlogging in case of heavy rain,” LG office said.

Saxena directed officials concerned to deploy additional pumps at the chronic waterlogging sites to prevent flooding, and warned that any negligence would be viewed seriously and action will be taken against erring officials. “LG also expressed displeasure over the garbage dumped in the drains at all of these sites and issued strict instructions to the agencies concerned to remove all garbage, debris and sludge in three to four days and report the same along with photographic and video evidences,” LG office said, adding that LG stressed on devising long-term strategies to get rid of waterlogging woes.

Meanwhile, urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj visited the affected areas, including East Kidwai Nagar and Golf Links, and coordinated with various departments to address the issues. “Despite these areas falling under NDMC, he facilitated solutions and called for a permanent fix to waterlogging problems. He discussed the issue of the Barapullah drain overflowing with the Centre, which has directed the relevant agency to clean it,” said a statement issued by the minister’s office.