Rain brings Delhi to a halt; BJP, AAP spar again over rampant waterlogging
Waterlogging in the Model Town area in Delhi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
The BJP’s Delhi unit hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party government, accusing it of negligence after waterlogging was reported from several areas of the Capital following heavy rain on Tuesday.
“This morning’s rain caused waterlogging from Badarpur to ITO, from ITO to Mundka, from Chhattarpur to Sangam Vihar, from Badarpur to Kakardooma, and from Vasant Kunj to Najafgarh. As Delhiites headed to work this morning, they were surrounded by water, and the city came to a standstill until the afternoon.” said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva at a press conference here.
He added that the government, its 60 MLAs and the Delhi Jal Board had failed to address waterlogging, which had “turned the entire city into a slum cluster”.
Mr. Sachdeva also demanded that a list of commonly-waterlogged sites be prepared and security marshals be deployed there to prevent the public from going near those areas.
On Monday, Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena and Water Minister Atishi had written separate letters to the Chief Secretary regarding the “complete collapse of civic infrastructure” in the Capital during the monsoon.
Reacting to Mr. Sachdeva’s remarks, AAP in a statement said that despite directions, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar had failed to desilt drains.
‘CS made excuses’
“Much before the monsoon arrived in Delhi, Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj directed the Chief Secretary to provide the report on the desilting of drains by various agencies, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Public Works Department, Delhi Development Authority, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, etc. However, instead of providing the report, the CS was busy making excuses,” the statement read.
The party said Mr. Kumar had, on the pretext of providing the status report to the Delhi High Court, said he would not provide it to the concerned Minister. “He also made the excuse of the [Lok Sabha] election model code of conduct being imposed,” it said.
“The CS was also directed to conduct a third-party audit of all desilting efforts by the various agencies. However, he deliberately ignored and avoided the audit,” it said.
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