Experts call for overhaul of Delhi's drainage system as waterlogging cripples city

    New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Urban planning experts on Thursday said Delhi needs a complete revamp of the existing drainage network as a long-term solution with the city often crippled by massive waterlogging and traffic snarls.
     "This time what we are seeing is that even areas like the New Delhi Municipal Council, which had a robust sewerage system, are failing under pressure. Despite claims by the concerned authorities of desilting, the situation of waterlogging shows that drains are clogged and the work has been executed poorly.
    "A comprehensive drainage master plan and its proper implementation on the ground are required," said PSN Rao, urban planning expert and dean at the School of Planning and Architecture.
    He dded that unauthorized colonies without formal drainage networks are adding to the problem, as rainwater has no designated path to flow and ends up flooding nearby roads.
    The Delhi government's 'Drainage Master Plan,' in the works for several years, is yet to be finalized. The plan is supposed to offer a city-wide, long-term solution - but until it is implemented, the city is likely to face the problem.
    The Public Works Department (PWD) has listed out 194 critical locations on its watchlist this year, out of which 126 are under its jurisdiction and 68 are overseen by other agencies like the NHAI, DDA, Delhi Metro, NDMC, and MCD.
    The PWD, which manages over 50 per cent of the city's total drainage network, has completed approximately 92 per cent of desilting work across 2,064 km of drains, officials said.
    In a shift of strategy, the new BJP government in Delhi had introduced two-year contracts under 35 desilting packages, aimed at ensuring sustained maintenance and cleaning of the drains throughout the year.
    "This year we did not see that much heavy rainfall, and even then there is waterlogging across the city. This shows that the authorities have a lack of understanding of the issue. The only outfall for all the drains in the city is the Yamuna River, and every year during this season the level of the river rises, which leads to backflow in the drains. The government should have prepared better," said Jagdish Mamgain, an urban planning expert and former commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi's works committee.
    The government should also finalize the Master Plan for Delhi 2041 soon, which will pave the way for future urban planning, he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)