Chaos reigns during rains

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The rain gods are smiling. And the darkening skies and shimmering raindrops are a poet’s dream. But for Delhiites, it’s turning out to be a prolonged nightmare.
Chaos reigned supreme as the capital experienced heavy rainfall this week, with an especially stronger round on Thursday leading to massive traffic jams, road cave-ins and trees falling. Adding to the water-logging and commuters’ woes are the piles of malba beside roads and pavements that have been dug up in preparation for the C

ommonwealth Games.
Even though the MET department had earlier in the week predicted heavy rainfall, no apparent steps were taken to clear these piles or ensure better drainage. Delhi chief minister Shiela Dikshit was quoted saying that she “didn’t expect such heavy downpour”. But B.P. Yadav, spokesperson, MET department, Delhi, says, “We predicted at the beginning of the week itself that there would be heavy rainfall in the capital on Thursday. It was very much known by everyone that it would rain continuously.”
Had the government overlooked the monsoons when drawing up the preparation timetable for the CWG? Deep Mathur, spokesperson, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, feels that this is “too basic” a question to be raised when the CWG is just round the corner. “But I admit that it is a big issue and more attention should be given in this regard,” he says, adding that MCD would do its best to address and rectify the problems.
Most Delhiites feel next to nothing is being done to ease monsoon trouble. “I couldn’t find a single traffic or government official on the road when there was a huge traffic jam and water-logging on the Sarai Kale Khan-Ashram stretch,” says Shipra Ahuja, a college student who took hours to return home in Anand Vihar from college.
Roads where the debris has yet not been cleared are the worst clogged during the rains, feels Vaibhav Vishal, a professional who was stranded amid rising waters in Connaught Place on Thursday. Agrees Naveen Sinha, who lives in Chirag Delhi and was stuck on the road on Thursday for hours. “I was on the AIIMS road when traffic started slowing down and eventually came to a standstill. Because of the water-logging, the cars could not move at all for a long time,” he says, adding that he had not expected this to be the state of Delhi roads 45 days prior to the games. “It’s appalling. People involved with the ongoing work should take proper measures,” he says.
However, officials from MCD feel that other organisations like NDMC, Delhi Jal Board, NDPL, PWD and others who are also carrying out construction work in and around the capital are equally responsible for handling such a situation. “Managing the menace caused by the rain is as much their responsibility as ours. We addressed most of the 102 cases that we received in our 12 control rooms,” says Deep Mathur, referring to the cases of water-logging and tree falling in certain areas that were reported in their zonal offices. “We are trying to do the best we can,” he sums up.