As rain lashed the national capital in the early hours of Friday, the roads were submerged in water from overflowing drains, inundating several areas – from the affluent neighbourhood of Lutyens to the densely populated villages.
Pictures and videos showed people wading through waist-deep water, cars floating on the road, and people using tyre tubes to escape waterlogging. Delhi’s infrastructure was in crisis after receiving 228.1 mm of rainfall in 24 hours – a staggering 266 percent above normal levels. But the issue of roads flooding during monsoons and poor drainage system is not unprecedented in the city. In fact, it has worsened over the years.
Newslaundry looked at the worst-hit spots in the national capital and reached out to the officials and public representatives accountable for the areas – from the MPs and MLAs to the officials of the Public Works Department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and the New Delhi Municipal Council.
The PWD maintains wide roads over 60 metres, while the MCD maintains roads less than 60 metres in width, and the NDMC is responsible for certain areas of central Delhi, including the Lutyens’ Delhi. Local MLAs pointed to the overlap of responsibilities for delays and a lack of coordination, with some also attributing the crisis to the tussle between the BJP and the AAP.
Let’s look at five of the worst-hit spots and the authorities’ take on it.
Spot 1: Krishna Nagar, near Safdarjung Enclave
On Friday morning, the residents of Krishna Nagar woke up to a sewer entering their residence with water reaching up to their waist. As per officials and locals, the drain that passes underneath the Krishna Nagar road overflowed and submerged the road and houses in the area. “I woke up to water entering my house in the wee hours of Friday. The water level was till my waist, and it drowned all my furniture. Now my daughter is unable to trace her important documents,” said Dulali Das, who lives with her daughter in Bylane 2 of Krishna Nagar.
The drain water flooding worsened so much that Malviya Nagar AAP MLA Somnath Bharti stood at the spot for more than four hours to get the issue resolved. He termed it a “natural disaster” and told Newslaundry that the drain that overflowed had not been desilted for nearly 40 years.
“MCD made chambers on this drain to desilt it. But the flow in the drain is very strong and it carries water beyond its capacity. That's why this situation emerged,” said Bharti.
Deepak Gehlot, executive engineer of maintenance at MCD, who is responsible for the maintenance of drains and roads, did not tell us why the drain hadn’t silted for decades. He told Newslaundry that he is “not authorised” to speak on the matter and that they are trying their best to get things under control.
Gehlot added, “What I can tell you is that the water level in the main drain, where this drain connects, is flowing much above the normal level due to rain. So, there is a backflash of water here.”
Spot 2: Minto Bridge
Cars and buses floating under the Minto Bridge on Minto Road are a spectacle witnessed by locals every monsoon. This time, too, a similar scene unfolded under the bridge on Friday as the city saw heavy downpours.
While the road comes under the PWD, some PWD officials maintained that the area under the bridge comes under railways, hence it remained neglected. Notably, the PWD had removed the area from its list of monsoon hotspots after observing no waterlogging under the bridge for five consecutive rainfall.
Shoib Iqbal, the local MLA, told Newslaundry that the involvement of multiple agencies is a challenge in solving the issue of Minto Bridge. “The bridge is on the border of the NDMC and the MCD. So, each agency put the blame on the other.”
Spot 3: ITO
On days of heavy rainfall, waterlogging at ITO is a common sight. This time, Indra Prastha Marg continued to remain flooded till late evening, causing traffic snarls in the area. Notably, some parts of the ITO fall under Iqbal’s Matia Mahal constituency, while a part of it falls under Jangpura constituency.
Jangpura MLA Praveen Kumar, who has been representing the constituency since 2015, told Newslaundry that they will “identify the [affected] areas and take appropriate measures in future”.
He said the incessant rain had caused the Barapullah drain to overflow. “As the Barapullah drain was flowing above its limit, we saw waterlogging in many low-lying areas. But we will identify the areas and take appropriate measures in future.”
However, Iqbal emphasised that the lack of coordination with the NDMC is a major cause of the situation being recurrent every year. “NDMC doesn’t listen to us. We have tried to sit with them many times, but all these attempts have failed.”
Spot 4: Arobindo Marg, AIIMS, ministry of civil aviation
Aurobindo Marg and the roundabout near AIIMS also witnessed waterlogging – with the area submerged nearly five feet deep. Even Rajiv Bhavan, the office of the Airport Authority of India, remained flooded with knee-deep water till the evening.
Aurobindo Marg is maintained by the PWD till Gautam Nagar turn, but the drains near the AAI office fall under the NDMC. The road also passes through two assembly constituencies – Malviya Nagar under Bharti till AIIMS Hospital, and Arvind Keriwal’s New Delhi beyond it.
Officials at the NDMC said waterlogging in the area was caused by blocked drains maintained by the MCD. NDMC public relations officer Om Prakash told Newslaundry, “Water from our drains goes to MCD drains. But MCD drains were not cleaned, which is why water logging happened in our area.”
Spot 5: Moolchand, Lodhi Road
The Moolchand Ring Road, under Kasturba Nagar assembly constituency, also witnessed waterlogging. The area falls under the PWD.
As locals struggled with the flooded roads, Kasturba Nagar MLA Madan Lal said it was “natural”. To assert his point, Lal told Newslaundry, “It has never rained like this in Delhi before. Because of the incessant rain, Yamuna is overflowing, so are drains in the colonies.”
He altered his stance when asked about Lodhi Road, where the houses of many who’s who of the capital city flooded. Videos emerged of Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav being lifted by his staff and being carried to the car as his bungalow was inundated. Like Yadav, Atishi’s house and that of many other politicians were also flooded.
Notably, the government quarters on Lodhi Road are maintained by the CPWD, while the main road is under the PWD, and the bylanes are maintained by the MCD. The area falls under Lal’s constituency.
The AAP politician said: “Lodhi Road is a low-lying area and last year, too, it witnessed massive waterlogging. The maintenance of the overall drainage system in the city is the responsibility of the MCD. But I think the MCD under us is not able to do much work in one year due to all the political tug-of-war.”
Lal also blamed the “political situation” and said that no desilting work has been done this year as Delhi Jal Board did not have a budget for it. “Delhi Jal Board is not ready to sanction any money for sewer and water. There is no budget for desilting, many employees have retired but no new recruitments, no contract for jetting machines, there are several issues.”
Newslaundry reached out to PWD engineer-in-chief Mohammad Khairuddin Mallick with queries on the matter. This story will be updated once we receive a response.
Bansuri Swaraj ‘missing’ in action
Lal also alleged that local MP Bansuri Swaraj “is not helping them in the situation”. Newslaundry tried to reach out to Swaraj, however, we could not speak to her as “she was busy in a meeting.”
Meanwhile, residents of New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency posted on X alleging that Swaraj is missing from the scene.
An X user responding to Swaraj’s post on the Sengol controversy in the parliament, said: “She is my MP. My house is flooded. We live in one of the poshest areas of Delhi. This is her concern.”
Other areas suffering too
Excessive waterlogging was also witnessed at Pragati Maidan Tunnel, Azad Market, and Sarai Kale Khan, among others.
While Pragati Maidan falls under AAP MLA Praveen Kumar’s Jangpura assembly constituency, it also comes under BJP’s Harsh Malhotra’s East Delhi constituency in Lok Sabha. The tunnel made headlines in the past after the PWD pointed out that the underpass carried major design defects.
Meanwhile, Jangpura’s Sarai Kale Khan, which has been flooding, also falls under Malhotra’s East Delhi constituency.
Videos of vehicles being stuck in Azad Market underpass are also being widely-shared on social media. Reportedly, the passengers of a bus had to be rescued after the vehicle got stuck in the water.
Notably, Azad market falls under Sadar Bazar assembly constituency, from where AAP’s Som Dutt is the MLA. It also falls under Praveen Kahndelwal’s Chandini Chowk constituency.
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