7 men clean Barapullah Drain with their bare hands before Delhi CM, L-G inspection

Carrying steel buckets and pans in their hands, the men waded into ankle-deep black muck to clean the drain, which falls under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.

• Written by Abhinav Saha
• New Delhi | Updated: April 11, 2025 02:37 PM IST
2 min read

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inspected the Barapullah Drain near Soochna Bhawan, Lodhi Road. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

Minutes before Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh inspected the Barapullah Drain near Soochna Bhawan, Lodhi Road, on Thursday, at least seven men were cleaning the drain manually, without any protective gear.

Carrying steel buckets and pans in their hands, the men waded into ankle-deep black muck to clean the drain, which falls under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.

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When the CM, L-G and the minister arrived, the workers retreated, beyond the cameras’ reach.

Carrying steel buckets and pans in their hands, the men waded into ankle-deep black muck to clean the drain, which falls under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

Sources in the government said a machine was unable to enter the drain and it had to be cleaned manually.

Irrigation and Flood Control Chief Engineer, Mukesh Kumar, however, said he was unaware of the matter and declined to comment.

The leaders also inspected the Wazirabad supplementary drain, Barapullah, Sunehri Bridge, Kushak and Najafgarh drains. Directions were issued to expedite cleaning and desilting to make sure there was no flooding and waterlogging during the monsoon.