The Delhi government and MCD engage in blame game, as city battles Monsoon fury
The Delhi government and MCD engage in blame game, as city battles monsoon fury
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Troubled waters: The rains and waterlogging have caused traffic snarls
and vehicular mishaps all over the city. Pic/Rajeev Tyagi
If chief minister Sheila Dikshit's statement was any indication then the city denizens are not going to get any breather from the Monsoon horrors any time before August 10. Reacting to media queries regarding Delhi roads turning into pools after first major Monsoon showers in the national capital, Dikshit said: "It is true that there is a lot of debris lying around and yesterday's rains were very unusual. Debris would be cleared before 10th August, the stipulated time. Let the time come."
But, she was quick to find a scapegoat by Wednesday when at a high-level meeting she accused the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for 'mismanagement'.
The BJP-ruled MCD took no time in passing the buck on to the Public Works Department, which comes under the Delhi government.
"Other agencies like the PWD should also do their bit in combating the problem. We are not getting proper cooperation from PWD. While the MCD has completed all de-silting work, the Public Works Department failed to de-silt some drains under it. We are going to write about it to PWD minister," Mayor PR Sawheny told MiD DAY.
PWD award
With Commonwealth Games a little over two months away and several key projects running behind schedule, PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan on Tuesday announced that officers who would complete their projects on time would be rewarded. "I would recommend the names of the officials who complete their tasks in time, to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for awards," Chauhan said.u00a0 In the same breath, he also threatened action against those officials who fail to fulfill their allotted tasks within the scheduled period.
Delhi weather
Humidity touched a new high of 100 per cent for the first time this season on Tuesday. Though there were no rains during the day, traffic snarls were reported from some parts of the city during the morning hours due to water logging, a spill over effect of the heavy downpour Monday evening. The maximum humidity touched 100 per cent while the minimum was recorded at 55 per cent, the Met Department said. The mercury hovered between 25 and 36 degree Celsius. Heavy rains, which lashed the city for about 90 min on Monday evening was measured at 51.4 mm.
DMRC roads
The Delhi government has set a deadline of July 31 for Delhi Metro to handover various roads currently under its control.u00a0 The Chief Minister in a high-level meeting on Tuesday also directed Delhi Metro to remove all construction wastes from their project sites by the August 10 deadline. Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan assured that the DMRC would hand over all the roads under its control to the agencies concerned by the deadline set by Dikshit. He also told the meeting that the DMRC would complete beautification exercise at all its over-ground Metro lines by September 15.
Emergency!
The MCD has declared an 'emergency'. The leaves of all the works department officials have been cancelled and they have been asked to be on the round-the-clock duty at the vulnerable points and faulty storm water pumps would be replaced. "The zonal deputy commissioners will be held personally responsible for water logging complaints. They have been asked to monitor the work personally," Sawheny said.
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