Monsoon causes waterlogging, traffic jams, MCD says fully prepared

New Delhi, Jun 16 (UNI) An early monsoon may have brought cheers to the faces of Delhiites by bringing down the mercury, but it has also brought the associated problems of waterlogging.

The first monsoon rains yesterday, which was just 32 mm, brought down the maximum temperature to 27 degrees Celsius, but threw life in the city out of gear, causing traffic jams many areas and waterlogging in several others in the city.

Infact, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) recieved over 40 complaints of waterlogging from all over the city.

The notable areas from which complaints of waterlogging were recieved were Shakti Nagar, Okhla, Minto Road, Hauz Khas, Vasant Kunj, Lado Sarai, Dev Nagar, Shakti Nagar, SBI Colony, G T Road, Uttam Nagar, District Centre, Janak Puri, Nangloi-Najafgarh Road, Rohtak Road, Mahipalpur, Anand Parvat and Kalandi Kunj.

Today, though just about 12 mm of rainfall was recorded till 1700 hrs, it was enough to throw the traffic out of gear in many areas, including ITO crossing, Nizamuddin, Shakti Nagar and Azadpur.

The waterlogging may have put a question mark on the preparation of the MCD for the Monsoon season, but the corporation said it was fully prepared to deal with the situation.

''We are fully prepared to deal with the situation arising out of the early arrival of Monsoon in the city, ''Leader of the House in the MCD Subhash Arya said.

Talking to UNI, Mr Arya said the MCD had acquired 250 pumps to deal with cases of waterlogging.

''We have send 10 to 20 pumps in each of the zones in the city to exclusively deal with cases of waterlogging during the monsoon season. These pumps will be stationed in areas which are prone to waterlogging during the monsoon, so that they can be used in case of any exigency,'' Mr Arya added.

Keeping in view the early arrival of the monsoon in Delhi, the MCD was carrying out, on an urgent basis, the work of desilting of drains in various areas of the city.

Mr Arya said, ''The MCD had assigned its staffers to carry out, on an urgent basis, the work of desilting in areas where it had not yet been completed, without waiting for the contractors to complete it.

''We have also acquired sophisticated machines, like the JCBs and booster pumps to drain out excess water from areas where waterlogging takes place.'' In the cases of waterlogging that occured in the city after rains yesterday and today, the MCD leader said the cases were not serious.

''It is usual to have some waterlogging in areas where rainfall is heavy. But even in such areas, the water will drain out in about one to two hours,'' he added.

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