The Delhi government will form an expert committee and prepare short as well as long-term plans to solve the waterlogging problem the city faces during the monsoon season. At a meeting attended by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and PWD Minister Satyendar Jain, it was decided that areas that witness waterlogging problems would be identified and work on it would be carried out at micro level. Delhi has received more rain this time than previous years and many places have witnessed waterlogging. The problem can be solved if all agencies, including the National Highways Authority of India, Public Works Department and the municipal corporations work together, Sisodia said at the meeting.
He said an expert committee, comprising officers from all the agencies concerned, will be set up to look into the problem with a holistic approach and short as well as long-term plans will be prepared to resolve the issue. The deputy CM specifically underlined the problem of waterlogging near ITO and NH-24 and directed officials to find a solution at the earliest.
"Whenever it rained this year, a pond would form near ITO and on the slip road of NH 24," he said. The meeting was also attended by Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev, commissioners of all three municipal corporations and other senior officials.
Spells of heavy rains pounded Delhi for three consecutive mornings till Thursday, turning streets into shallow canals, uprooting trees and disrupting rail and road traffic. The national capital recorded 231.3 mm rainfall since Tuesday morning, surpassing the September average of 129.8 mm precipitation by a big margin. Usually, it gauges only 21.7 mm rainfall on the first three days of the month.
Overall, the city has gauged 987.7 mm rainfall since June 1, when the monsoon season starts, which is 81 per cent more than normal. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded 117.7 mm rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Thursday, the highest in a day in September in 19 years. It was the second day on the trot that the capital recorded more than 100 mm rainfall in a day.
The city had gauged 112.1 mm rainfall in 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Wednesday causing waterlogging in several areas, including the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri and the commercial hub of Connaught Place. Delhi had recorded 126.8 mm rainfall on September 13, 2002. The all-time record is 172.6mm rainfall on September 16, 1963.
In July, the national capital gauged 507.1 mm rainfall, which was nearly 141 per cent above the long-period average of 210.6 mm. It was also the maximum rainfall in the month since July 2003, and the second-highest ever.
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