NEW DELHI: Heavy rain on Friday afternoon left several parts of the national capital waterlogged, particularly areas around the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, raising concerns over coordination among various civic agencies ahead of the BRICS Summit scheduled to be held next week.The national capital is gearing up to host the two-day BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13.Following the heavy rain, the Dwarka underpass, which is maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) and connects Palam on one side with the IGI domestic terminal area, was heavily flooded.“We deployed temporary pumps at the locations to clear out the water. The catchment area of the underpass is big, and due to flooding of the nearby Mehrampur area, there was waterlogging in the tunnel, which was cleared later,” a PWD official said.A DTC bus was stranded in the underpass for a short time. However, the water was cleared within a few minutes, while other buses plying on the same route were diverted.According to directions issued specifically for underpasses under the flood control order, the PWD ground team is required to immediately inform the control room if water stagnation reaches 6 to 8 inches and deploy mobile pumps.“In case water level continues to rise even after pumps are started, the control room informs the Traffic Police to stop traffic movement in the affected underpass. DTC is contacted and informed of the situation and advised to divert buses from the route,” the official added.However, the Dwarka underpass was not the only location affected by waterlogging. Another underpass connecting Mahipalpur, Mehrauli and Vasant Kunj was also flooded following the rain.PWD officials said other areas around the IGI Airport that faced waterlogging fell under the jurisdiction of different agencies.“The other underpasses and roads belong to DIAL and NHAI agencies, not PWD,” a Delhi government official said.The waterlogging comes days after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu held a review meeting with all relevant agencies on August 26 to address the issue in the city.During the meeting, Singh emphasised the need for a “whole of government” approach and called for all departments and agencies to work together in complete synergy rather than in silos.Singh also directed the PWD and other agencies to submit a report on waterlogging-related issues by the end of August.(With Agency Inputs)
