East Delhi (Photo | Express)
First, the scorching summer heatwave killed more than 200 people. Then a series of fires caused even more tragic deaths, including horrific burns to seven newborn babies. Now, monsoon chaos has left the city in ruins, piling a plethora of problems onto its “plate of death.”
The city is failing its residents at every turn, people are suffering while politicians engage in the usual blame game. Apathy continues to prevail.
Just a few weeks ago, Water Minister Atish went on a hunger strike to protest against the Haryana state government for restricting the flow of Yamuna water into the capital during a heatwave. Now, as water rains from the sky, the city’s infrastructure is collapsing and unable to cope.
Just a day ago, three civil service aspirants drowned while studying in a library illegally run by a coaching institute in the UPSC aspirant hub of Rajinder Nagar area in central Delhi. This is not an isolated incident and several deaths due to waterlogging have been reported in the recent past.
As if drownings were not enough, overhanging electric wires falling into pools on flooded roads add to the misery. Around 26 people, including children, have died due to electrocution in the past one year.
On June 28, when Delhi received over 200 mm of rainfall, a 39-year-old man was electrocuted after coming into contact with a live electric wire on a flooded road in Premnagar, Rohini. On July 13 this month, a 34-year-old woman was electrocuted on a flooded road in Bhajanpura area of northeast Delhi.
As the political game of accountability continues, even the courts have stepped in and issued directions to overcome the deaths due to foul play cases, but nothing seems to have changed on the ground.
Why are the roads flooded?
Deaths due to flooding have been on the rise in the capital over the past month, with many accusing city administrations of failing to desilt and repair the drainage system.
After heavy rains on June 28 left large parts of the city inundated, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Public Works Department (PWD) announced a series of measures to prevent such incidents from happening in future.
But despite these measures, Delhi residents continue to live in fear that just an hour of heavy rain could bring life to a halt.
Officials and experts agree that even the best-maintained drainage system cannot completely prevent flooding in the city.
The main problem is that Delhi’s drainage system is outdated. The current infrastructure is designed to handle only 50 mm of rainfall and quickly becomes overwhelmed by anything more. A “drainage master plan” that could address these deficiencies has been pending approval for decades.
According to PWD officials, the existing drainage master plan dates back to 1976 and was designed to suit the city’s population and rainfall projections at the time. It was constructed to manage 50mm of rainfall within 24 hours.
Outdated drainage infrastructure needs upgrading
Torrential rains of 228 mm in late June left Delhi flooded and 11 people killed. Despite managing 2,064.08 km of drainage pipes, or 55 per cent of the city’s drainage network, the PWD has been unable to mitigate the annual monsoon inundation crisis.
The court order has designated the PWD as the nodal agency to prepare the new drainage plan, but only one consultant has been appointed to draft it. This consultant will be responsible for designing a plan that takes into account Delhi’s growing population and its latest drainage needs.
Moreover, rather than learning from past flood damage, governments continue to apply temporary solutions such as desilting and water pumps.
International standards require separate sewer and stormwater systems to prevent overflows, but in Delhi the systems are often combined, exacerbating the problem.
A 2018 IIT report recommended separating seasonal storm water from year-round sewage. The report was rejected in 2021 due to insufficient data, but the need for separate layouts remains crucial. Delhi has 201 natural drains in three basins — Najafgarh, Barapura and Trans-Yamuna.
Moreover, a 2016 IIT report identified slope issues in some areas, making efficient drainage difficult.
As it stands, Delhi’s drainage infrastructure remains outdated and inadequate. A comprehensive and modern drainage master plan, along with the implementation of separate sewerage and stormwater systems, is essential to effectively address the city’s waterlogging problem.
When the Court Intervenes
Despite Delhi High Court directions to address the national capital’s persistent waterlogging problem, the reality on the ground remains grim.
On July 25, the court observed the serious state of the city’s drainage system and noted that drains were virtually clogged.
A division bench comprising Interim Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora asked Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to submit a detailed plan and timeline for siltation removal across the city.
The court’s remarks came in response to several pleas by Delhi residents, including lawyers, who complained that clogged storm water and sewerage drains had led to flooding of roads, homes and offices.
The court stressed the need for a comprehensive new master plan to address the city’s public infrastructure problems.
“These drains are virtually clogged. They cannot be desilted overnight. Some of them have not been desilted for 40-50 years. The entire system needs to be reconstructed and a new master plan is required,” the court said.
The court has now ordered the civic body to submit an affidavit detailing its silt removal strategy, including a region-wise timeline.
A web of electric wires that puts lives at risk
When we talk about leakage current, we conjure up images of overhead electric wires in most parts of the national capital. In 2002, the Delhi government led by Sheila Dikshit privatised the city’s electricity distribution system in a bid to reform the power infrastructure and eliminate overhead wires.
Despite private power distribution companies providing electricity for over two decades, minimising the overhead wire problem in the national capital remains a distant dream. In many areas, posh or not, the wires hang from pole to pole instead of an underground network, with Old Delhi being the most affected.
The debate over the electricity cable crisis has been reignited following the electrocution death of a UPSC aspirant in Rajinder Nagar and drowning of three students in the basement of an IAS coaching centre in the same area last week.
According to rough estimates, burying the entire high voltage overhead power grid in the city would cost around Rs 2,500 crore or more, which is almost three times the cost of insulation. Meanwhile, most of the high voltage lines in the city are already underground or insulated.
In 2014, the Delhi Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal approved a policy to convert bare electric wires to insulated conductors to protect lives and property. Though the Cabinet considered taking all overhead wires underground and the city government has allocated crores of rupees for this mammoth task in its annual budget, overhead wires remain a prevalent problem.
“Delhi is a very old city and much of it is unplanned. Most of the critical electricity grid is insulated or underground. There are unauthorised, semi-rural and rural sections so a concerted effort is needed to either move the cables underground or upgrade the entire grid. Power distribution companies and government agencies are playing their role at various opportunities but challenges remain due to the expansion of the city,” said a senior electricity department official, requesting anonymity.
“In the recent electric shock incidents, it is not clear where the leakage took place. It could have been from a transformer, a box on the pole or even from a household. An investigation is underway. Further, the agencies concerned should check cables and internet wiring hanging along electric wires and poles. No electric shock incidents have occurred in old Delhi where there are no exposed electric wires. Systems need to be in place to avoid any unforeseen incidents,” the official added.
The mesh of overhead electric wires not only endangers lives through electric shock, but also leads to fires that start with short circuits and burn down the entire building and nearby homes.
Regular fires are a concern
About 10 km away from Rajinder Nagar, there is another coaching centre where a massive fire broke out in one of the coaching facilities last year. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured, but it served as a wake-up call for the authorities.
These incidents at coaching centres have raised concerns over illegal and unauthorised premises running commercial businesses in the national capital, ignoring all safety norms.
Walking through the narrow lanes of this locality, you will see plenty of signboards and banners of coaching institutes hoisted on every building, promising success.
But are these buildings safe and equipped to handle or prevent disasters? This question remains unanswered. With each building housing hundreds of students at a time, and the need for constant emergency preparedness, the seriousness of the situation is clear.
It is another issue that buildings in the city are being operated without meeting fire safety standards.
Fire NOC certifies that the building complies with fire prevention and fire safety requirements as per Rule 33 of the Delhi Fire Code. Many commercial buildings in Delhi are operating without a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the Fire Department.
Every year, the Delhi Fire Department issues fire alerts to around 50-70 buildings, but several still go unnoticed.
It is important to note that the fire department is not a license issuing authority and therefore does not directly interact with the public to provide NOCs.A senior DFS official said it is the responsibility of the building authorities or civic authorities to refer cases before granting licence to a building or factory.
June 28
When Delhi received over 200 mm of rainfall, a 39-year-old man was electrocuted after touching a live electric wire on a flooded road in Premnagar, Rohini. On July 13 this month, a 34-year-old woman was electrocuted on a flooded road in Bhajanpura area of northeast Delhi.
228mm
In June, 228 mm of rain fell in a single day, causing the capital to collapse and killing 11 people. Despite managing 2,064.08 km of drainage pipes, or 55 per cent of the city’s drainage network, the Public Works Department has been unable to mitigate the annual monsoon flooding and associated crises.
July 25
On July 25, the Delhi High Court noted the serious state of the city’s drainage system, noting that drains are virtually clogged. The court’s comments came in response to several pleas from Delhi residents, including lawyers, who complained that clogged storm water and sewage drains were causing flooding in roads, homes and offices.
Rule 33
The Delhi Fire Code certifies that buildings comply with fire prevention and fire safety requirements. Many commercial buildings in Delhi are operating without a ‘no-objection certificate’ from the fire department. Officials said there are around 50-70 such buildings, but several are still overlooked.
