Pre-monsoon showers on Wednesday were enough to flood several city roads with knee-deep water, bringing the traffic to a crawl.
Despite tall claims by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the civic bodies, clogged drains remain a major problem as even the briefest of showers lead to traffic chaos due to waterlogged roads.
According to the municipal corporations, areas around Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, Malviya Nagar, Moolchand, Airport Road, Dilshad Garden and Old Seemapuri witnessed severe waterlogging that affected traffic movement till the evening.
Jams due to waterlogging were reported from across the city, including Sardar Patel Marg, Dhaula Kuan, Rao Tula Ram Marg, Ring Road (near Lajpat Nagar), Connaught Place (near the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara), Minto Road, Moti Bagh (under the flyover).
Apart from flooded roads, some jams were caused by uprooted trees falling on roads. Cases of fallen trees obstructing the roads were reported from Green Park L-Block, Sadik Nagar Sector-1, CR Park A-Block, Moolchand flyover, Ramesh Nagar, Patel Nagar, and Tank Road near Barat Ghar.
Passing the buck
The authorities passed the buck on Wednesday too.
“Most of the de-silting work in our area has been completed. However, unless the agencies work together, the issue of waterlogging is likely to remain,” a senior official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation said.
An official from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said that despite the drains being de-silted, plastic material gets clogged in the opening of the drains thereby not allowing water to go through.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police said that it was unfair that they are blamed for the traffic situation in the city caused by blocked drains and waterlogging.
“When there is so much water on the roads the movement of traffic automatically slows down. Even if we deploy our entire strength on the roads, the situation will not improve unless the water level goes down,” said a senior Traffic Police official.
