Another waterlogging repeat?

Delayed desilting work in major drains ahead of monsoon has raised concerns of waterlogging and urban flooding.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

NEW DELHI: With just days to go before the monsoon hits Delhi, half of the city's key drains — including major ones such as the Najafgarh, Shahdara, and Barapulla — remain only partially desilted, raising concerns of waterlogging and urban flooding.

Civic agencies are now racing against time to complete this annual maintenance task before monsoon rains arrive.

At a high-level review meeting chaired by Delhi's chief secretary on June 3, officials disclosed that only 12 of the 24 major drains had been fully desilted by May 30.

These include smaller stormwater channels like the Tonga Stand drain (0.49km), Sweeper Colony drain (0.38km), Civil Military drain (1.09km), Khyber Pass drain (1.15km), and the Shastri Park drain (0.68km).

Larger and more critical drains, however, continue to lag far behind.

The Najafgarh drain, which stretches over 57.13 km and serves as Delhi's principal stormwater artery, has only seen 46.3% of its length cleared.

The Shahdara drain (5.90km) stands at 64%, and the Barapulla drain (4.22km) at 92.5%.