Day 2 of monsoon: Heavy rain sparks chaos on Delhi roads

NEW DELHI: For the second day in a row, rainwater inundated roads in places like Pul Prahladpur, Gandhi Nagar, Bhairon Marg, Pragati Maidan, Azadpur and Vikas Marg on Wednesday. Traffic was also hit and the situation was reckoned to be worse than on Tuesday with major gridlocks in ITO, Dhaula Kuan, Vikas Marg, Najafgarh, Delhi Cantonment, Mehrauli, DND Flyway and Pul Prahladpur.
The day’s events mocked the claims of PWD and the municipal corporations of 100% desilting of the stormwater drains.While these agencies spoke about how well the situation was handled on the first day of monsoon on Tuesday, they weren’t as enthusiastic on Wednesday.
The only saving grace was Minto Bridge, which has become a symbol for civic negligence with the underpass there submerging vehicles even as big as buses every monsoon. On Wednesday, there was no water accumulation and, consequently no traffic jams, though vehicular movement was slow due to the rain.
Delhi Traffic Police alerted commuters several times during the day on Twitter to avoid certain routes. “Waterlogging reported at Bhajanpura near Mazar (both carriageways). Kindly avoid the stretch,” read one tweet. Another read, “Traffic is affected from Azadpur towards Mukarba Chowk due to waterlogging at Azadpur underpass. Kindly avoid the stretch.” Yet another said, “Traffic is affected from Karkari Mor towards Shahdara (both carriageways) near Kanti Nagar bus stand under railway bridge due to waterlogging.”
Rasna Kalra was stuck in traffic for more than two hours in Narela. “There were cars everywhere. Some people tried to reverse to go back and that created more problems,” said Kalra. “People were screaming at each other. My day, as you can see, started on a terrible note. How much can the traffic police do when there’s so much water on the roads?” Naresh Wasan kept taking diversions suggested by his GPS device, hoping to reach his workplace faster. But he was delayed by three hours.
Waterlogging was common throughout Delhi. In east Delhi, rain-related complaints were mostly concentrated in the Shahdara north zone, including Yamuna Vihar, Dilshad Garden, Bhajanpura and Karawal Nagar. Waterlogging was also reported from Geeta Colony in Shahdara south. EDMC standing committee chairman Satyapal Singh alleged that desilting work hadn’t been carried out properly by PWD leading to waterlogging in the EDMC areas. “The first spell of rain has exposed PWD’s claims,” Singh said.
B S Vohra, who heads the East Delhi RWA Joint Front, said that there was no respite from waterlogging in the past 30-40 years. “What was achieved under Master Plan Delhi 2021? Can we expect a better drainage system under MPD 2041?” he asked. “We are fed up with the blame game indulged in by the municipal corporation and PWD each rainy season.”
While a tree fell in Pocket B1 of Dilshad Garden, four similar incidents were reported in south Delhi at Lado Sarai, Chittaranjan Park, Defence Colony and Janakpuri. SDMC received complaints of waterlogging from Malviya Nagar, Okhla and the WHO building in ITO.
According to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, pumps were deployed to clear water at Rang Mahal, Keshavpuram, Mubarakpur, Sanjay Enclave, Rajan Babu Road, Majlis Park and Mohan Park.
The multiplicity of agencies overseeing Delhi’s drainage network has often been blamed for the annual urban flooding. The corporations manage the smaller drains in residential areas, while PWD carries out maintenance of drains along wider roads. Delhi government’s irrigation & flood control department, DDA and the Cantonment Board also have jurisdiction over other drainage networks. Recommendations made by Delhi Drainage Master Plan, among them separation of sewage and stormwater drains, independent certification of desilting work and redesigning of problematic drainage points, still remain unimplemented.