De-silting of drains incomplete, Delhi roads flooded

With the early arrival of the monsoon in the national capital, the city's three municipal corporations (MCDs) have been caught unprepared with de-silting of drains yet incomplete, leading to flooded roads and resulting traffic jams.

Monsoon arrived in Delhi June 16 at least a fortnight ahead of schedule and incessant rains led to severe flooding in a number of areas and traffic jams on busy roads.

Areas of east Delhi like Gandhi Nagar, Kailash Nagar, Geeta Colony and Krishna Nagar have been worst hit due to clogged drains and flooded roads. Also affected are Model Town I and II in North Delhi and south Delhi localities of Safdarjung Enclave, Green Park and Arjun Nagar.

"There has been no de-silting in East Delhi. Garbage has also not been collected because of which the drains get clogged," said Anil Bajpai, president of the East Delhi Residents Welfare Forum.

However, an official of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) claimed otherwise.

"The de-silting process was completed on June 15. We have taken extra steps and provided portable pump sets and workforce to look into the citizens' complaints," Y.S. Mann, spokesperson of EDMC, told IANS.

The control room set up by the EDMC is also non-functional.

Pankaj Agarwal, general secretary of the Delhi Resident Welfare Association joint front told IANS: "We are not aware of any helpline of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)."

"The water percolation level is very low and the drains are not designed for concretisation," said Manish Gupta, commissioner of SDMC.

"The MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) cannot do much to solve the problem of water accumulation because roads wider than 60 feet are under the purview of the Public Works Department (PWD)," Gupta said.

He added that the MCD cannot do much about drain clogging and flooding of roads unless the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) cleans the accumulated sewage.

B.S Vohra who represents the Mega Delhi Residents Welfare Association, told IANS: "DJB charges sewage tax from citizens and is, therefore, responsible for cleaning the drains in the capital."