CM announces immediate steps to mitigate crisis of waterlogging

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced a series of interventions to fix potholes, clear flooded roads, clear traffic jams, investigate the reasons behind road cave ins, in addition to impose a temporary ban on ongoing construction works to keep the roads clean, measures announced in the wake of widespread mayhem caused by heavy rains in Delhi.

- Alok KN Mishra

Underpasses and roads, including the Pragati Maidan tunnel, markets and residential colonies across the city were inundated, and almost all major arterial roads witnessed traffic jams as Delhi received over 250mm rain since Saturday.

Kejriwal said in the last couple of years Delhi, Himachal Prade Chandigarh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have witnessed record rainfall. "Between July 8 and 9, in a 24-hour period, there was 153mm of rainfall in Delhi. It is for the first time in 40 years that we have had such heavy rainfall in the city. The last time it rained so much was in 1982 when the city received 169 mm rain in 24 hours. Unfortunately, the drainage system in the city is not designed to handle such rainfall. This is the reason that the residents of Delhi have had to face problems," the chief minister said.

"However, unfortunately, the problem is so big that irrespective of all out collective efforts, they are proving inadequate. But we are all working hard to solve the issues," Kejriwal said.