New Delhi: Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma on Sunday inspected the Outer Circle of Connaught Place, which witnessed waterlogging a day earlier following heavy rainfall, and attributed the inundation to changes made over time to the 100-year-old drainage system.
Verma said he had also visited the site late on Saturday night when heavy rain had led to water accumulation along a 100-metre stretch near the popular Kake Da Hotel. The minister explained that the root of the problem lies in a century-old barrel drainage system whose capacity has been compromised.
“Over time, construction of buildings in the Connaught Place area reduced the size of these barrels, restricting the natural flow and causing frequent waterlogging,” he said.
To ease the situation, Verma announced that “two high-capacity pumps have been installed to ease the load on the drain and push water forward more efficiently.”
During his late-night inspection, Verma observed that water had entered some shops, prompting the PWD to undertake a detailed point-by-point study to identify permanent solutions. An official statement noted that 34 critical waterlogging points in the capital, including Zakhira, Minto Bridge, Moolchand, and ITO, remained free from flooding this year despite a decade-long history of inundation. The minister credited this to “continuous monitoring, timely interventions, and rapid on-site action.”
“Wherever waterlogging is reported, I visit the site or send my engineers to inspect and fix the issue without delay. This year, water accumulation on PWD roads has been significantly lower. We are working on every point and will ensure that in the coming years, Delhi will be completely free from waterlogging,” he stated.
Expressing sorrow over the death of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who fell into an open sewer in Outer North Delhi’s Khera Khurd village during Saturday’s heavy rain, Verma called it “an extremely unfortunate and heartbreaking incident” and assured that “all
necessary measures will be taken to ensure such tragedies never happen again.”
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised Verma’s inspection, calling it “belated and meaningless.” Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the minister “woke up 24 hours after the city drowned” and was “looking for potholes” instead of being on the ground when lives were being lost.
“If the minister truly wanted to see waterlogging, he should have gone out with an umbrella during the rain,” Bharadwaj remarked at a press conference. He also questioned why Verma had not visited families of those who died in rain-related incidents, including the seven victims of a wall collapse near Mohan Baba Mandir in Jaitpur.
“The BJP government has turned Delhi into a joke,” Bharadwaj said, recalling that “the same thing happened last time” when inspections occurred only after the rain stopped.