Premium
This is an archive article published on July 7, 2023

MCD misses drain desilting date; city waterlogged after rain

“Work of cleaning drains connected with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi should be completed by June 28... To save Delhi from waterlogging, serious work has to be done at the zonal level,” MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi had said in the statement.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), MCD, delhi waterlogged after rain, Delhi news, New Delhi, Indian Express, current affairsCommuters wade through a waterlogged Noida-Okhla underpass, Thursday. Tashi Tobgyal
Listen to this article
MCD misses drain desilting date; city waterlogged after rain
x
00:00
1x 1.5x 1.8x

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is yet to complete desilting drains under its jurisdiction.

At an MCD House meeting on June 9, the civic body’s engineering wing had announced that just 55% of the corporation’s 700 bigger drains had been cleaned till then. The initial deadline for completing desilting of drains was June 15, which was not met. Thereafter, the MCD announced in a statement on June 20 that desilting of small drains is 80% complete and that all drains should be desilted by June 28.

“Work of cleaning drains connected with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi should be completed by June 28… To save Delhi from waterlogging, serious work has to be done at the zonal level,” MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi had said in the statement.

The statement also revealed that only about 68% of work of removing silt from major drains had been completed.

After a spell of rainfall on Thursday, Delhi reported waterlogging on several roads.

The MCD received 9 waterlogging complaints from Baprola, Azad Market, Sadh Nagar, Shahpur Jat, Sarai Rohilla Station, Ashok Vihar, New Rajinder Nagar, Modi Mill in Kalkaji, and Seelampur. There were also reports of trees falling at five other sites including Geeta Colony, Vivek Vihar, and Kishangarh.

Eight water logging complaints were filed on July 5, three on July 4 and five on June 30.

Story continues below this ad

Criticising the delay in achieving the desilting deadline, MCD Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh Thursday said: “All drains above 4 feet which come under the MCD’s jurisdiction should have been completely cleaned by June, but they are still full of silt.”

Hitting out at the AAP — which won the civic polls last December and ended the BJP’s 15-year rule — Singh said the party earlier used to say the MCD does not cooperate with them, due to which the drains were not cleaned on time. “After coming to power in the MCD, the AAP has made it completely inactive. Due to this, cleaning of drains could not be done on time.”

Last year, the MCD had achieved the target of 100 per cent drain desilting by June 25, added Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

According to Singh, apart from the complaints received by the MCD, waterlogging was also observed at Zakhira, Kirari, Rani Khera, Wazirpur, Bawana, Narela, Kishanganj underpass and other places, which affected movement of traffic and caused a lot of problems to citizens.

Story continues below this ad

Responding to the claims, MCD Leader of the House, AAP’s Mukesh Goel, said: “90% of drains have been desilted… there are small portions which still remain but they will be desilted soon.”

Meanwhile, over 51 waterlogging complaints were received by the Public Works Department (PWD). Nehru Vihar in Timarpur, Kotla Road in Mayur Vihar, Kaushik Enclave in Burari, Sewadham Road, MB Road and Nangloi Rohtak road were recognised as the main waterlogging points. The PWD and MCD look after desilting drains in the national capital.

Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh. Professional Profile Education: She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. Core Beats: Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime. Specialization: She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions. Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025) Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context: 1. Politics: “On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections. “Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding. 2. Longforms “Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud… “How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it. 3. Crime and Justice: “He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh. “Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases. 4. Policy Impact “At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters. Signature Style Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives. X (Twitter): @SamanHusain9 ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Loading Taboola...
Advertisement