Find solutions to address drain overflow issue in central Delhi: Atishi to officials
New Delhi: Delhi water minister Atishi on Monday directed officials to find solutions to prevent a drain, which runs through central Delhi, from overflowing during heavy rainfall. The water and Public Works Department (PWD) minister inspected MCD's crucial drain no. 12 at ITO here, an official statement said. During this inspection, Mayor Shelly Oberoi, chief secretary and other senior officials from MCD, PWD, Urban Development and Flood and Irrigation Control Departments were also present, the statement said. MCD's drain no. 12 carries water from central Delhi to Yamuna.
On June 28, Delhi received an unexpected rainfall of 228 mm in just 24 hours. Normally, the national capital receives 800 mm rainfall during the entire monsoon but this time, almost a quarter of the entire monsoon rainfall occurred in just 24 hours, the statement said. This unexpected rainfall caused drain no. 12 to overflow, leading to waterlogging around ITO Chowk, it added. To prevent such a situation from recurring in the future, Atishi and Oberoi, along with senior officials, jointly inspected a large part of the drain from ITO Chowk to its outfall. During the inspection, the PWD minister instructed the officials to find short-term solutions to prevent MCD drain number 12 from overflowing during heavy rain. The senior AAP leader also directed the officials to find a permanent solution to prevent the drain from overflowing so that the waterlogging problem does not arise in the future. Oberoi said that ITO Chowk and the roads around it are among the most important routes of Delhi. "To prevent waterlogging here, we will work together with the departments of the Delhi government and take every necessary step to prevent waterlogging," she said "Water from Central Delhi flows into the Yamuna through Drain No.12 near ITO. On 28 June, when 228mm of rain fell, this drain overflowed and waterlogging occurred in the surrounding areas. Today along with Mayor @OberoiShelly ji and senior officials, inspected this drain and gave instructions for short term and long term solutions to stop the overflow," Atishi said in a post in Hindi on X.
