delhi-sets-up-control-room-for-waterlogging-issues

The Delhi government will establish a 24-hour control centre to oversee the waterlogging situation in the national capital. Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj made this announcement on Friday following heavy rains, which marked the highest single-day rainfall in June in 88 years.

 

After the city experienced heavy rainfall that led to waterlogging and significant traffic disruptions in various areas, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and his ministerial colleagues Atishi, Gopal Rai, and Imran Hussain held an emergency meeting in the afternoon to assess the situation.

 

Due to the rain, a section of the roof of Delhi Airport's Terminal-1 collapsed, resulting in one fatality and six injuries.

 

"Delhi recorded 228 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours which was the highest since 1936. It led to waterlogging," Atishi told a press conference.

 

Bharadwaj mentioned the establishment of a 24/7 control centre at the PWD headquarters, where senior officials will oversee the waterlogging situation.

 

The Delhi government has initiated a WhatsApp chatbot with the number 8130188222 and a helpline with the number 1800110093 for reporting waterlogging complaints, he added.

 

During the day, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena assessed the situation in Delhi and instructed officials to establish an emergency control room and deploy static pumps to address waterlogging reports. At an emergency meeting, the LG instructed all senior officers on leave to return to duty immediately and prohibited leave for the next two months, as per his office.

 

Saxena also acknowledged the lack of readiness and an emergency response system in the national capital, as per the LG office.

 

The meeting was attended by high-ranking officials from civic agencies such as the Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, and the Delhi Police. 

 

Saxena commented that the desilting of drains had not been finished and the Flood Control Order had not been issued yet. He urged the officials to prioritise desilting work over the next week. 

 

The Irrigation and Flood Control department was instructed to stay in contact with their counterparts in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to gauge rainfall levels and discharges from the Hathnikund barrage. 

 

The LG directed the revenue department to activate the disaster response cell under the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in case of excessive rainfall and to seek assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for any emergency measures during the monsoon.