PWD Minister orders desilting of all drains in Delhi by June 7

All drains in the city will be desilted by June 7 to prevent water-logging on roads during the monsoon season, Delhi PWD Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.

Jain, who conducted surprise inspection of roads and drains at east Delhi's Mandoli village, said the Public Works Department (PED) will install around 1,000 pumps for pumping out water from the city's roads in case of water-logging.

"All drains will be desilted by June 7. To prevent water-logging, PWD will station around 1,000 pumps at different locations to pump out water from city's roads," he told reporters here. Last week, the Delhi government had warned that if the residents suffered due to water-logging during monsoon season, the officers concerned would face action.

In a recent note to Chief Secretary M M Kutty, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cautioned against desilting of drains "only on papers", saying such anomalies must stop.

The AAP government has also directed PWD secretary Ashwani Kumar and municipal corporations to identify vulnerable points for water-logging across the city by June 7 and fix them so that people are not caught in a fix.