Delhi rains: Breach in Barapullah drain wall led to South, New Delhi flooding

Around 200 water-logging complaints were received by the PWD of which 70 were generated from Lajpat Nagar, Jangpura, Moolchand, C R Park, AIIMS, Bhikaji Cama Place, R K Puram, Chirag Dilli, Dhaula Kuan, Naraina, and Rajendra Place among other locations.

What added to the issue, according to an official, was a breach in a wall due to the heavy downpour where the construction of a bund was ongoing.

Which department was responsible for the drain soon became the central point of an inter-agency blame game. “This drain does not come under PWD and was transferred to MCD, then to Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) but there is still a lack of clarity. Both MCD and I&FC denied any back-flow when the issue was raised in a meeting,” claimed a senior PWD official.

MCD officials, however, said they handed over the drain to I&FC. According to officials from I&FC, the department is yet to take over it completely.

PWD Minister Atishi at a press conference acknowledged that “a lot of water overflowed through Barapullah (drain) and one of its walls was breached”, adding that all stakeholder agencies were working together when it came to such issues. “This time, it is not one department versus the other like the MCD versus the Delhi government. Wherever one department can help, they put their resources and manpower to work. The wall that has been breached… is undergoing bunding work,” she said.

The Minister said that after the bunding work, the issue of overflow at the Barapullah would be resolved. A drain that connects Central Delhi, ITO and the WHO building and flows into the Yamuna also overflowed for several hours and was the reason why it took time to clear water from ITO and the Minto Bridge.

“Because even when water is being pumped out, it goes into drains. If the drains are overflowing, the water can’t be drained out easily. When the rains stopped and the drain water settled, the water level decreased over time across Delhi,” she said.

“Since the wall had breached at Barapullah and the quantity of water was so high at that time, South Delhi areas surrounding it such as Mathura Road, Jangpura and Sunlight Colony faced issues for a longer time. However, we also put temporary motors to drain out water in different colonies,” she added.

The Barapullah drain occupies an area of 376.27 sqkm approximately and has 44 drains.