Raising concerns over waterlogging in the Capital, the Delhi Congress on Saturday alleged that only than five per cent of the drains in the city have been desilted so far.
Raising concerns over waterlogging in the Capital, the Delhi Congress on Saturday alleged that only than five per cent of the drains in the city have been desilted so far.
"The seriousness of the Delhi government's preparations to face the rainy season is reflected by the records showing that just 49 of the 327 PWD drains were desilted by May 29," said Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken.
Maken added that if the matter was not attended to urgently, the Capital would face the threat of waterlogging. "The AAP government and BJP-ruled municipal corporations are involved in a blame game and are shifting responsibilities on one another. Meanwhile, the danger of waterlogging in the city is looming large," said the Delhi Congress chief.
Maken added that even though the target of desilting of drains was fixed for June 15, the tender for cleaning major drains in the city was only invited on May 29. "Despite being taken to task by the courts, the Delhi government and municipal corporations have not woken up from their slumber," Maken said.
Earlier this month, Lt Governor Anil Baijal had constituted a high-level committee headed by PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar to look after the desilting of drains and open manholes.
The L-G-appointed committee has prepared a plan to desilt all 163 major drains in the city by June 15, which end up being waterlogged every monsoon.
The PWD is in charge of 1,260 km of roads in the capital while the rest fall under the jurisdiction of the three MCDs. In 2016, the Delhi government had banned road-cutting activities during monsoon, but due to poor monitoring, the restriction could not be implemented.
The committee has asked agencies to submit their detailed plan for the removal of silt from drains, and the number of drains have been desilted so far.
—PWD official
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