Lack of coordination among civic agencies spell misery for commuters after showers

Lack of coordination among the civic agencies and their blame-game attitude, are the reasons behind commuters being harassed during the rainy days specially during Monsoon as the traffic stands still. These reasons are very much in the knowledge of the concerned authorities but they turn blind eyes, shows the ground report.

After the heavy showers on Monday, the traffic in the Capital stood still and the aftereffects could be seen a day after as well. Potholes and waterlogging issues continued on Tuesday too and the commuters were harassed yet again.

“The waterlogging in almost every road is the major reason why the city stands still every time it rains. More than 200 choke points across the city have been identified and the concerned civic agencies were informed but nothing has been done,” a senior traffic cop said.

There are around 19 civic agencies that fall under Delhi government, Central government and an autonomous body. Some of the agencies include Delhi Jal Board (that looks after the work of sewage and water pipelines), PWD (for roads that are broader than 60 metre and drains that are bigger than 4x4 feet). 

While blaming PWD, YS Mann, Director (P&I), North and East MCDs said :“Desilting of the drains is already done. Now if the waste or unwanted material is collected in the drains above 4x4 feet and is not cleared by the PWD the waterlogging issues heighten. Also, during heavy rainfall the drains overflow.”

Whereas, Satyendar Jain, PWD minister Delhi government, said the 1,265 roads out of 3,000 in the city, fall under PWD and no major waterlogging is reported in these roads. 

“We have already installed water sucking pumps to drain out the logged water. And they are very much functional and are effective too,” Yadav added.

The other factor that are leading to traffic jams is the volume of the traffic whereas, the capacity of the city road is comparatively low, says a senior traffic cop.