As one writes this piece on monsoon preparedness in north India, a newsflash from Himachal Pradesh (HP) on television catches the eye. It’s July 4, parts of the state have been hit by heavy rain, leading to 115 roads being closed.
Cracks have appeared on a road between the Manali-Pandoh stretch on the Chandigarh-Manali highway and it has started sinking.
It is to be noted that monsoons have just hit the northern region after a prolonged and intense heatwave.
Delhi has already had its deluge by the end of June, the heaviest for the month since 1936, with 228m rain recorded just within 24 hours even as the Capital’s record for the entire monsoon season is 800 mm.
Roads were waterlogged, rainwater inundated buildings, including hospitals, with crucial surgeries postponed at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Lok Nayak Hospital.
The death toll recorded was 11. A cab driver was killed as the canopy of T1 at Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed.
Two children were electrocuted in northwest Delhi, two boys and an elderly man drowned in flooded underpasses and three workers were killed as a wall collapsed at a construction site in Vasant Vihar.
The state governments have had adequate warning to ensure adequate arrangements are made to tackle the monsoon. They should have hopefully learnt lessons from last year, when Delhi, HP, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh virtually drowned as a monsoon surge coupled with western disturbance simply dumped water over the region, causing landslides, destroying buildings, washing away cars, damaging roads and infrastructure.
Hundreds of lives were lost.
This year’s early monsoon rain woes in Delhi prove that emergency measures have to be taken to ensure citizens and infrastructure are protected and life is not thrown out of gear as the monsoon season advances.
Adequate noise has been made about flood prevention drives, but the coming days will prove how effective these are.
DELHI
According to a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) statement, more than 80,000 metric tonnes of silt was removed from 466-km of drains in the city as part of its first phase target of de-silting operations by the end of June.
Around 713 drains with a depth of four feet or more across 12 MC zones were also desilted. Fourteen drains out of 22 being transferred to the irrigation and flood control department were included in the desilting operations. Twelve out of the 14 drains, including the Moat drain at Vijay Ghat, ISBT drain, Kailash Nagar drain and Sweeper Colony drain, had been cleaned.
In its statement, the MCD said it had “achieved an average of more than 100 per cent de-silting target set for drains under its jurisdiction, successfully cleaning 713 drains that are four feet and above, spanning a total length of 466 km," the statement said.
Around 80,690.4 metric tonnes of silt were removed and were being transported to landfill sites under continuous monitoring, the statement added.
All drains in areas under MCD were being cleaned in coordination with the irrigation and flood control and public works departments and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) to avoid waterlogging.
About 72 permanent pumping stations and 465 mobile and submersible pumps of various capacities were available in case of waterlogging. Extra portable pumps had been set up at vulnerable spots across all zones, read the statement.
DCs and other senior officials were on standby to sort out desilting and waterlogging issues, ensuring prompt deployment of manpower and resources as needed, MCD said.
Citizens could register complaints of waterlogging, fallen trees and damage to buildings at the MCD’s control rooms at the MCD headquarters and in all its 12 zones.
HIMACHAL PRADESH
Rain created havoc in the state last year, with three "extreme spells" in July and August, more than 150 identified landslides and 72 flash floods affecting various parts of the state, leading to 404 deaths, with 38 missing till September.
Losses from the natural disasters had amounted to Rs 10,000 crore Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had said.
This year, however, he has expressed confidence that all steps are in place to deal with rain related disasters in the state.
The Disaster Management Authority was coordinating with all departments concerned to prevent any monsoon-related damage, he said at the end of June while interacting with the media.
“Adequate manpower and machinery has been deployed at identified vulnerable locations,” the CM added.
Regular mock drills and disaster management training were being conducted for field staff and other officials.
The state government had also held regular meetings on disaster preparedness with district administrations.
PUNJAB
A high alert was sounded in the state in July 2023 after unrelenting rain, with Jalandhar, Patiala and Dera Bassi hit hardest.
Residents of a society close to Chandigarh had to be evacuated in boats as the Ghaggar river overflowed. Roads were damaged and fields flooded.
This year, a media outlet has quoted drainage department sources as saying that the state government has allocated Rs 300 crore for flood management.
Vulnerable points had been identified at various places, including the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi and Ghaggar rivers and the countless streams and rivulets emptying into the water bodies as well as the major nullahs and canal systems.
Efforts are being made to reinforce the embankments of the main rivers, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said during a visit to areas near the Ghaggar in the middle of June to check flood-prevention measures.
Speaking to people he said that the Punjab government was working on various measures to combat flooding, including creation of seasonal rivulets to absorb flood discharge and delineating floodplains under the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act.
From creating a databank of bag suppliers, local volunteers and earth moving equipment operators to developing bamboo plantations on the inner slopes of rivers, the CM said long term planning was being done to combat floods.
More than 250,000 sandbags would be kept ready at key locations along the Ghaggar river in Sangrur district to prevent breaches.
Roads damaged by floods would also be promptly repaired, the CM promised, adding that a survey for this purpose was being completed with focus on strengthening the road connecting Moonak to Khanauri via Mandvi.
At the end of June Punjab water resources minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra also visited various sites and asked officials to fastrack strengthening work of the Tiwana bandh at Ghaggar river.
The minister also inspected a few villages prone to flooding by the Ghaggar and said water bodies were being cleaned and embankments strengthened.
Drainage department sources were also quoted by the media outlet as saying that desilting of rivers had begun at some places in the state.
Repairs were being prioritised at the most vulnerable points first and major drains were being cleared, sources said. These remained blocked and prevented rainwater from draining out, leading to waterlogging in some areas.
Jouramajra has also said that a fleet of earth-moving machines has been acquired, and these were operating round-the-clock to clear drains, remove silt, and strengthen vulnerable points.
HARYANA
For the first time in its history the Haryana government declared a flood alert last year in July 2023 as incessant rains flooded 1,354 places in 12 districts of the state.
Ensuring arrangements were in place this year, Minister of State for irrigation and Water Resources, Dr. Abhe Singh Yadav and officials from the Irrigation Department visited several villages in the Ambala and Kurukshetra districts impacted by flooding last year.
Inspecting the border dam of Tangri river, Yadav also directed officials to get the drains cleaned and widened to ensure drainage of rainwater.
From identifying the weak points of the border dam near populated areas close to the Tangri River to cleaning of the Markanda River, the minister directed officials to ensure quick completion of all flood control measures.
The minister also visited Jalbera and Jhansa in Kurukshetra and issued instructions for clean-up of the Markanda River and strengthening of embankments at vulnerable points with sandbags or cement concrete bags.
Flooding in Kurukshetra District is caused mainly due to the Markanda River, but overflow of water from Tangri River and small nullahs like Rakshi, Chutang, Jodha and Linda in the area also inundates fields and villages.
Yadav inspected work being done to fortify Damli and Kalsana dams on the Markanda River and directed that all flood prevention work be completed quickly.
It is to be noted that during the 55th meeting of the Haryana State Drought Relief and Flood Control Board in October 2023, a budget of Rs 1,205.89 crore had been approved. Apart from protection of villages and abadi, the funds will be utilised for procuring of machinery used during flooding and reconstruction of structures to clear drain and ensure uninterrupted flow of drain water.
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