Delhi's Okhla underpass remains waterlogged after record rain, traffic restricted
Delhi's Okhla underpass remains waterlogged after record rain, traffic restricted
Vehicular movement at Delhi's Okhla underpass was restricted by the traffic police on Sunday due to waterlogging following heavy rain in the national capital earlier this week. The traffic police asked commuters to plan their journeys accordingly.
The move comes after a 60-year-old man drowned in the underpass on Saturday. On Friday, the monsoon arrived in Delhi and dumped 228.1 mm of rainfall, the highest since 1936. The torrential downpour submerged several parts of the city and claimed multiple lives.
"Movement of traffic is restricted at Okhla underpass due to waterlogging. Kindly plan your journey accordingly," the traffic police tweeted.
Regular commuters have been forced to take alternate routes due to the closure of the underpass.
"I have been taking this route for some time but have never seen it get waterlogged. The route above the underpass is also closed. I was going for some work near Crown Plaza. I have to take another route now," Sonu Gupta, a commuter, told PTI.
Another commuter Rajesh Kumar said he had been looking for an alternate route after getting stuck in a traffic jam for several hours near the underpass on Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in Delhi and has put the city on orange alert till July 2.
Civic bodies in Delhi have boosted manpower and equipment deployment to address waterlogging and keep field units on high alert amid a prediction of heavy rain in the city till July 2.
An official from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said the civic body has ramped up manpower deployment to handle waterlogging complaints and is monitoring areas under Lutyens' Delhi through CCTV cameras. The measures were taken after the area witnessed a flood-like situation as water entered the bungalows of many MPs, including Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
NDMC Vice-Chairman Satish Upadhyay said they have deployed four additional pumps on a standby basis at Golf Links and Bharti Nagar which witnessed excessive waterlogging on Friday.
"Three super suction machines mounted on vehicles will keep patrolling the vulnerable areas. We have also deployed additional staff and cancelled the offs of all employees," he told PTI.
"Each vulnerable area has been placed under one superintending engineer who has staffers with them to address issues. The NDMC central command and control room will monitor all vulnerable areas through CCTV cameras," he said.
According to the NDMC, superintending engineers are now overseeing operations at vulnerable points to ensure timely interventions.
"We will ensure 24-hour monitoring through CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras are in place for continuous monitoring of vulnerable areas," another official said.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has put its field units on high alert to deal with any such situation. A senior official of the civic body said their central control room is functioning round the clock and claimed that the de-silting of drains has been completed.
Mobile pumps, super sucker machines, earth movers and other machines have been deployed at various locations where waterlogging was reported through dedicated 24x7 zonal control rooms of the MCD, the official said.
"In total, 72 permanent pumping stations are working as per requirement. Additionally, 465 mobile/submersible pumps of different capacities were made available to clear waterlogging. Manpower was adequately deployed also in tandem with machines for quick and sustained release of water," he said.
On Saturday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena inspected the city's most severely affected areas and drainage systems to assess the damage and oversee remedial measures.
During his visits, Saxena found all these drains clogged with garbage and sludge that caused severe flooding in various parts of the city, a statement said.
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