New Delhi: An intense spell of rain lashed the capital on Wednesday morning, triggering waterlogging on key roads. While some places held up — notably the flood-prone Minto Bridge near Connaught Place — several others were submerged, raising questions about monsoon preparedness.PWD sources reported water accumulation near Prahladpur, Laxmi Nagar, Mundka, Anand Parbat, Moti Nagar, and Loni Road. Social media videos filled in the gaps from other places. In one, former CM Atishi shared visuals of knee-deep water at the Municipal Girls’ School in Tikri Kalan, captioning them: “BJP’s four-engine govt should be ashamed. Water has entered up to knee level in the Nagar Nigam Girls’ School in Tikri Kalan, but BJP doesn’t care.“However, an MCD official argued that water collected inside the school because of the lack of drainage on the road and PWD carrying out infrastructure work there. “We have made a temporary slope with soil stacks to ensure water won’t get inside the complex again. However, there is a desperate need for making permanent arrangements,” the official added.Other visuals showed a man swimming in a waterlogged stretch in Vinod Nagar, a woman boating in east Delhi\ and an AAP supporter rowing an inflatable tub — all underscoring localised failures in drainage.This comes despite official claims of having unclogged the stormwater drains. According to a July 9 progress report, 1,892km of Delhi’s 2,158km of PWD-maintained drains were cleaned for an 88.5% completion rate, with 12,587 tonnes of silt removed. The final target date for completion of desilting was July 31. But zone-wise data reveals sharp disparities. The east zone reported 100% desilting, south zone was nearly done, and the north zone lagged—with 9 of 13 projects yet to reach even 90% completion on July 9.PWD officials on Wednesday claimed that overall completion was 93%, with pumps deployed in flood-prone areas to ensure smoother drainage. “Slip roads in certain parts are now being tackled. Zone-wise, west Delhi is where the gap still exists,” said an official. With barely a week left before the desilting deadline, the big question remains: Will the remaining 7% make a difference or will some parts of the city continue to flounder every time it rains?As far as MCD drains are concerned, a recent claim by the corporation of clearing 1,70,620 tonnes of silt between Jan 1 and June 30, surpassing its target of 1,26,474 tonnes, still led to internal roads in the city reporting waterlogging on Wednesday. Residents in various localities in east Delhi, including Vinod Nagar, Pandav Nagar and Chander Nagar, complained about inundation on internal lanes. In south Delhi, Sangam Vihar, Badarpur, and Sainik Farms faced similar problems, while in central Delhi, Sadar Bazar and neighbouring areas reported water accumulation, albeit for a limited time. “In north Delhi’s Kamla Nagar area, it didn’t rain heavily on Wednesday, but on Monday and Tuesday, the lanes in the main market were flooded with rainwater,” said Nitin Gupta, member, Kamla Nagar Traders’ Association.
