Delhi: Rain-ready, are we?

The first letter was sent in April, the next in May, and soon the number of letters that the Delhi Traffic Police wrote to the various government departments increased with the onset of the monsoons. The letters talked about the areas in the national capital that have experienced waterlogging in the previous years and suggested officials plan well in advance to avoid any untoward situation this year. Read and ignored, these letters swiftly changed hands while Delhi soon turned into a water pool.

Through these letters, the traffic police communicated to various agencies about the city’s major problem zones. And this is not the first time such an official communication had been circulated. A list containing the names of 387 vulnerable spots was sent to the civic agencies this year as against the 370 spots identified the previous year.

“As compared to last year, there are 17 new locations. The remaining 370 are waterclogged points which were there in 2017 as well. The Delhi Traffic Police had, in April this year, also communicated to the civic department to repair important stretches. Regular reminders have been sent to the civic bodies,” said Taj Hassan, Special Commissioner of Police, Traffic department.

Just a few hours of downpour exposes the ever-failing drainage system of the Capital and Delhiites witness a flood-like situation. On July 13, the first heavy downpour of this season caused a DTC bus to submerge in water at the Shivaji underpass (Minto Road bridge) with 10 passengers inside. All of them were rescued.

“This happens every year but the authorities only swing into action when the situation turns extreme. Letters are sent, officials visit, and meetings are covened, and then, the process comes to a halt like nothing happened at all. No preventive measures are taken or suggested and this vicious cycle continues year after year,” said a senior Delhi government official.

Faulty Drainage

Delhi’s idea of dealing with the faulty drainage system is distributed among eight roads-owning agencies — Public Works Department (PWD), the three municipal corporations (east, south and north), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Department of Irrigation and Flood Control and the Delhi Cantonment. The Delhi Traffic Police and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) work in tandem to provide a helping hand.

But, too many cooks spoil the broth. The involvement of multiple agencies in the Capital has clogged the entire system. “There is neither a proper sewage system nor a garbage disposal system. The issue involves many agencies and it is one of the major reasons why Delhi is suffering. Each agency wants to pass the buck to the other. The Delhi government should have a proper planning system that should put the onus on a single agency,” said Sarvagaya Kumar Srivastava, former engineer-in-chief at the PWD.

The drainage master plan for the NCT of Delhi, prepared by a team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in 2016, highlights the need for the city’s stormwater drains to remain free of sewage and solid wastes. The plan goes on to add that the current practice of the DJB of puncturing sewer lines and draining sewage into the storm drains in the event of a blockage should be stopped with immediate effect.

“There are many loopholes in the city’s age-old drainage system. We have identified the areas that need special attention. Storm drains should be treated as key public assets and no encroachment should be allowed. No sewage should be allowed to enter these, even from the unauthorised colonies. The DJB should set up interceptor sewers to trap the sewage coming out of such colonies, which should be taken to the nearest sewage treatment plant,” said Professor AK Gosain, from IIT, who headed the team that prepared the drainage master plan.

AAP Faces HC’s Ire

The Delhi High Court had recently pulled up the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the civic agencies for not taking proper measures in dealing with the problem of waterlogging. “It is a shocking state of affairs every year.

Why is it happening year after year?” the Bench had asked and observed that the authorities were “not taking a macro view of the whole problem and there was only a knee-jerk reaction each time”. The court, which took suo motu cognisance of the matter, said the fallout of waterlogging was not only the loss of manhours with people unable to reach their destinations on time, including hospitals, but also the idling engines of vehicular traffic that add to the air pollution in the city.

The court said the situation exposes the “laxity” on the authorities’ parts. “While monsoons are beyond the control of the authorities, the problem of waterlogging certainly isn’t,” the bench said. DJB was asked to file a separate affidavit explaining the manner in which drainage of water takes place in Delhi as well as the date of construction of various drains, including stormwater drains, the steps taken to maintain them, and their efficacy.

Blame Game

North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta said that waterlogging on Minto Road was because despite “our repeated requests, the PWD has not desilted the drains in their jurisdiction and the result is for all to see. The problem of waterlogging at various places in the national capital is big”. According to Gupta, the municipal agency drains have an outfall in PWD drains, that’s why it’s important for all civic agencies to do their work on time. If the drains are not desilted in a timely manner, then water from the smaller drains would not have the outfall.

“Pumps installed on Shivaji Bridge should have drained the rainwater out of the road in time. Had the PWD done its work properly instead of making excuses and playing the blame card, the situation could have been averted,” Gupta added.  

According to PWD officials, the responsibility for fixing the drainage system should be fixed on the municipal corporations and the DJB. “The roads that come under the PWD’s jurisdiction are only accountable for storm water and the drains near these roads are clogged because of the waste thrown by the MCDs. Inefficiency of the MCD has led to the choking of drains in the Capital,” said a PWD official.

Sources further alleged that the DJB has failed to provide a foolproof sewer system, particularly in unauthorised colonies. “We have been regularly requesting the government to make DJB and MCD accountable for the sewage system in Delhi,” added the official.

Experts have blamed the faulty planning as one of the major reasons for waterlogging. “One should not neglect the natural drainage system while making the changes in the structure. We have to look at the existing network and check the direction of the slope. This will help identify the route through which water flows. An area-level analysis is a must. Maybe the existing plan requires a modification in the way the slopes are made,” said Professor Meenakshi Dhote, Department of Environmental Planning, School of Architecture.

Last year, a committee was formed after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the agencies to explore the possibility to do mechanised cleaning of drains. The committee, in its report, suggested various measures to better the existing system. However, the report has been lying at the Chief Minister’s office and no action has been taken on the suggestions.

The AAP government has handed over the irrigation and flood control department to Satyendar Jain, who is already the minister of PWD, for better coordination. The department was previously with Gopal Rai. Residents in the Capital feel helpless while the authorities continue to play the blame game.

“Since childhood, I have been witnessing the waterlogging across the city. And the situation hasn’t changed at all. We have failed to understand why there is no performance audit of our elected representatives. There must be a check on the elected representatives as well as the public servants so that in case of non-performance, they can be shunted out,” said BS Vohra, a resident of Geeta Colony.