Delhi downpour: Civic agencies scramble to address spate of complaints

The Delhi Traffic Police received a total of 56 waterlogging calls.

MCD officials said waterlogging complaints were received from the Harijan Colony in Kalkaji, Jangpura extension, Nabi Karim in Paharganj and Gautam Puri in Shahdara. Meanwhile, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) reported 24 cases of waterlogging and fallen trees.

Sharing visuals of massive waterlogging across the central commercial enclave of Connaught Place, traders complained of knee-deep water outside the shops in the New Delhi Municipal Council area. “They (the government) just want to collect taxes. We are not involved in the development of CP. Only beautification is being done,” New Delhi Traders Association president Atul Bhargava alleged.

Responding to the complaints, the NDMC stated: “Due to very high-intensity rainfall in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and its adjoining areas between noon and 2.30 pm, all major sewers were flowing with full discharge capacity, resulting in excess water flowing on roads.. NDMC officials are working tirelessly to get things normal very soon.”

Delhi government sources also said the city had witnessed more than 100 mm rain in a single day, which was 15% of the total rainfall Delhi gets every monsoon. “This much water cannot be drained while it rains. Once the rain stopped, the water cleared rapidly into the drainage system,” government sources claimed.

Incidents of power failure were also reported from many parts of the city, which resulted in non-functioning of signals and manning of signalised intersections by traffic personnel, the Delhi Traffic Police said.

The traffic control room flashed messages to all traffic officers to mobilise maximum number of staff, motorcycle patrol teams and cranes in the field to ensure manual regulation of traffic at the intersections where there was no power supply, remove broken down vehicles, uprooted trees and restore normal traffic, it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Fire Services attended 15 house collapse calls.
BJP, Congress hit out at AAP

Accusing it of negligence and pointing fingers at its claims of development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress on Saturday took on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government following citywide waterlogging and the resulting inconvenience caused to citizens.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “It was clear after pre-monsoon showers that Delhi’s drains have not been cleaned and we had raised an alarm for the Delhi government and MCD which took no note.”

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “(MCD Mayor) Dr Shelly Oberoi despite knowing in advance that Delhi is in for a very wet and disastrous weekend chose to attend the International Mayors Conference at Ahmedabad… the Mayor should have sent her Deputy to attend the conference and stood with Delhiites.”

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Chaudhary Anil Kumar said, “…Due to Kejriwal’s regular political tourism to other states and entrusting the PWD department to an inexperienced minister like Atishi, the people of Delhi are forced to suffer….,” he added.