Delhi govt to set up control room to monitor waterlogging after rains

The Delhi government will set up a 24-hour control room to monitor the waterlogging situation in the national capital, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj announced on Friday after the city was lashed by heavy rains, the highest in a single day of June in 88 years.

Bharadwaj and his ministerial colleagues Atishi, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain held an emergency meeting in the afternoon to take stock of the situation after a downpour in the early morning left Delhi waterlogged and brought traffic to a standstill in many areas.

A portion of the roof of the Delhi airport's Terminal-1 collapsed due to the rain, leaving one person dead and six injured.

"Delhi recorded 228 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours which was the highest since 1936. It led to waterlogging," Atishi told a press conference.

Bharadwaj said a round-the-clock control room is being set up at the PWD headquarters where senior officials will be present to monitor the waterlogging situation.

Delhi government has started WhatsApp chatbot number 8130188222 and helpline number 1800110093 to register waterlogging complaints, he added.

Earlier in the day, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena took stock of the situation in Delhi and directed officials to set up an emergency control room and deploy static pumps to address waterlogging reports.

Chairing an emergency meeting, the LG said all senior officers on leave should be asked to report back to duty immediately and no leave should be sanctioned for the next two months, according to his office.

Saxena also took note of the lack of preparedness and an emergency response system in the national capital, the LG office said.

Senior officers of civic agencies like the Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, Irrigation and Flood Control Department and the Delhi Police attended the meeting.

Saxena noted that the de-silting of drains had not been completed and the Flood Control Order was yet to be issued. He asked the officials to undertake the de-silting work on an emergent basis over the next week, the LG's office said.

The Irrigation and Flood Control department was directed to remain in touch with their counterparts in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to assess rainfall levels and discharges from the Hathnikund barrage, officials said.

They said the LG directed the revenue department to activate the disaster response cell under the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in case of excess rainfall and seek assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for any emergency measures during the monsoon.