The Public Works Department (PWD), which has jurisdiction over the entire network of arterial road stretches in Delhi, received around seven waterlogging complaints every hour following the sudden downpour on Tuesday.
According to a PWD official, the department’s control room received 70 calls about waterlogging during a ten-hour period starting around 9 a.m.
“There was some duplication in the complaints but, broadly, most of them pertained to around half a dozen locations and alleged waterlogging within an hour after the shower. The first call was logged around 8.50 a.m.,” the PWD official said.
Waterlogging complaints were received in relation to the Azadpur metro station, Majlis Park, Pul Prahladpur underpass, Mathura Road, Dhaula Kuan, Badarpur metro station and MB Road near the DM office.
Delhi traffic police said vehicular movement was affected and heavy traffic was observed at Dhaula Kuan and Azadpur in addition to Delhi Cantonment and Kalindi Kunj flyovers among other locations.
“There was heavy traffic on five roads including the Gandhi Nagar main road, Jahangirpuri bypass, Aurobindo Marg in Mehrauli, AIIMS to Dhaula Kuan Ring Road and the Barapulla Nala Road to CBI office,” a traffic police official said.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused the Delhi government of indulging in a “sewer scam” by claiming that all PWD-owned sewers had been cleaned in the Capital. The season’s first rainfall, he alleged, had clearly exposed the “fraud” perpetuated by the AAP Delhi government on citizens in this regard.
“We had also brought this matter to the notice of the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal urging him to order an enquiry into the cleaning of the sewers as all the work had been done on papers but nothing had moved on ground,” Mr. Bidhuri said.
He alleged that PWD Minister Satyendar Jain had made a “false claim” last month when he said all the sewers under PWD had been cleaned. “It is time to order a probe into the whole exercise of cleaning of sewers, the funds spent on it and who all were involved in this scam perpetrated on the people of Delhi,” Mr. Bidhuri demanded.
