Capital punishment: Parties lock horns over desilting amid Delhi's infrastructure woes

Heavy rainfall in Delhi caused fatalities and revealed infrastructure lapses, with BJP and Congress blaming AAP and MCD for the tragedies.

- TIKAM SHARMA

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Congress are in a heated dispute over the maintenance and upkeep of the national capital. Each party is blaming the others for the deteriorating infrastructure in the national capital.

Earlier this week, Delhi experienced heavy rainfall that led to hours of knee-deep waterlogging, resulting in the deaths of four individuals in separate incidents. A 12-year-old boy was electrocuted after coming into contact with a live wire in South West Delhi’s Bindapur; a 62-year-old man died in a building collapse in the Sabzi Mandi area; and a 23-year-old woman and her 3-year-old son drowned in a waterlogged drain in Ghazipur, East Delhi. Additionally, the city faced a series of incidents, including electrocutions on waterlogged roads, drowning in underpasses, multiple fires, and the recent tragic event at Rau’s IAS coaching centre on Saturday, July 27, 2024, where three UPSC aspirants drowned in a flooded basement library. The Delhi Government and MCD cannot escape blame for these mishaps.