Delhi: Cops to close roads prone to water woes

NEW DELHI: Roads that are prone to cave-ins or waterlogging may be closed for traffic during the rain to prevent chaos or any untoward incident. Though there were no major waterlogging complaints on Wednesday, traffic police had kept additional personnel on standby in areas like Minto Road, Bhairon Marg and Ashoka Road to ensure diversion in case of inundation and cave-ins.
With two days of heavy rain predicted by the weatherman, police have formed an emergency response team to deal with sudden disruptions like the ones that had stalled the city earlier this month.
According to senior police officers, pending construction work in the vicinity have made several roads in the city vulnerable to waterlogging and cave-ins. This might lead to a major accident during the monsoon. The traffic cops are keeping a watch on roads around Ashram, Pragati Maidan and Dilshad Garden, they added.
Though the number of stretches prone to waterlogging or cave-ins has reduced to 82 from the 271 listed last year, police say the condition of arterial roads has not changed much in the past one year. In a report to civic bodies, the cops had earlier sought for corrective measures to be taken on some of the 82 stretches to ensure that vehicle movement does not come to a standstill during monsoon.
For stretches like Rohtak Road near Nangloi, Mundka and Punjabi Bagh that get waterlogged even after light showers, the civic bodies have been asked to take special note of the drainage system that chokes due to silting. Even on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road near Devli, water gets accumulated on both sides of the road during the rain, leading to snarls.
Last year, Delhi government had directed its officers to take all possible measures to ensure that commuting was not affected due to waterlogging. Some corrective measures were enforced as well. However, several roads continue to remain prone to flooding.