New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has approved annual maintenance and full-scale operation of borewells installed across its green spaces to save city parks from drying up during the scorching summer.Around 3,500 borewells are installed in parks under the horticulture department. Funds are being sanctioned zone-wise to the electrical department for repair and maintenance so that all borewells function before peak summer kicks in.Civic officials added that the move is aimed at maintaining greenery while balancing water availability during the high-demand summer period.MCD has over 15,229 parks, many of which are irrigated with water from borewells. At several places, pipelines have been laid to supply water from borewells to neighbouring parks. The civic body has a fleet of 32 tankers to supply water to parks where there are no borewells.“We have already allocated budgets to four zones, among them west and Civil Lines, for the maintenance of borewells. We expect to allocate budget for other zones in a week and are expecting allocation of tenders for all 12 zones by the end of this month. The zones have also been asked to submit requirements for new motors or other equipment if these are broken, stolen or non-functional,” an official said.Last year, due to a budget crisis, the annual maintenance of borewells couldn’t be done, and this resulted in a deficiency of water. Rakesh Dabas, the member of a senior citizens’ association in Saket, said that there are several parks in the area where borewells are not working. “In H Block, there are two, in J block one; and in A&C block, one borewell is not working. At the D Block Park, opposite the PVR complex, the borewell has been lying defunct for 7-8 years, and the water supplied through tankers is insufficient.”
