Steps taken to prevent waterlogging at critical spots in Delhi, says DJB

Delhi Jal Board (DJP) on Wednesday said to prevent waterlogging during monsoon season in Delhi, the Public Works Department (PWD) has identified several locations in the national capital and has taken a range of steps including construction of separate drains, high capacity sumps and installation of automated pumps among others to prevent the same. 

A senior PWD official said the department has identified at least seven locations that are critical in terms of waterlogging out of the around 145 such locations in the national capital, news agency PTI reported.

Out of these 145, seven are critical points that include IP State Ring Road near WHO building, underpasses at Pul Prahladpur and Minto Bridge, Zakhira, Okhla, Azadpur and Jahangirpuri metro station road, the official said. 

The department is taking several short-term as well as long-term majors including the construction of drains and sumps, installation of automated pumps, CCTVs, and deployment of additional maintenance vans, the official added.

Pul Prahladpur underpass: The underpass located on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road is a crucial link between southeast and south Delhi. The underpass is located in a low-lying bowl-shaped area. The underpass is closed for vehicular movement every time after rains as it is flooded by rainwater and overflow of a nearby Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewer line.

The PWD department aims to solve the recurrent waterlogging problem by constructing a huge sump having 7.5 lakh litre capacity along with an additional motor pump of 600 horse power to remove water accumulated in the underpass, the official said.

Seven temporary pumps will also be set up with cumulative capacity of 500 horse-power, the official added.

Okhla underpass: The PWD department has constructed two stormwater drains along with two pumps of 100 hourse power each to keep the area clear during monsoon rains.

Minto Bridge underpass: The department has set up an alternate drainage system by constructing a separate drain, high capacity automated water pumps, CCTVs, alarms to ensure that the underpass does not get inundated, the officials said.

WHO Building: Nine pumps will be set up and a sump of 1.5 lakh litre capacity is also being built at Ring Road near the WHO Building. Apart from this, a separate drain will also be constructed from the old power station on Ring Road till Yamuna for easy discharge of water during the monsoon, the officials said.

Jahangirpuri metro station: A separate drain will be built along the service road to solve the waterlogging problem near the Jahangirpuri metro station. High-capacity motor pumps will also be installed.

The PWD department will remodel the stormwater drains in the area towards Mahendra Park and Ramgarh for the discharge of more water during the monsoon, the official added.

To resolve the issue of waterlogging in the national capital, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had in September last year said that changes will be made to the drainage system of the national capital based on recommendations from the IIT-Delhi and had promised a "world-class drainage system" with drains and sewers desilted regularly.

As per the government data, there are about 2,846 drains in Delhi and their length is about 3,692 km, majority of them are being managed by the PWD.