AAP, Delhi govt. trade blame over waterlogging, state of civic services following downpour

The Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticised the Delhi government over the “lack” of civic preparedness, which led to traffic snarls and waterlogging in the city following a downpour on Saturday. Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh responded by sharing purported videos of waterlogged stretches during AAP’s 11-year tenure and clips of the same spots, where no stagnant water could be seen, to demonstrate the progress under the BJP government.

During this year’s heavier-than-usual monsoon, the Delhi government has fended off attacks from the Opposition over the alleged lack of civic preparedness by asserting that the stormwater drains were desilted in time, even as AAP has dared the government to release an audit report on the desilting works.

‘Collapse of services’

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Atishi shared videos on X purportedly showing heavy waterlogging in Palam, Dhaula Kuan, and Saket.

“On Raksha Bandhan, the entire city is submerged. People cannot step out of their homes. The collapse of governance under (Chief Minister) Rekha Gupta’s government is preventing brothers from meeting their sisters,” said the LoP in an X post.

The former CM said that AAP had demanded a discussion on waterlogging in the Assembly, but the government avoided the debate despite promising to resolve the issue.

A delivery service worker wading through an inundated underpass.
| Photo Credit:
SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

In a letter to Ms. Gupta, the LoP highlighted a water supply crisis in her constituency of Kalkaji due to the pumping station in the area getting “completely submerged” and charged the government with “stalling and collapsing” within six months of coming to power.

“I am heartbroken to say that this situation is not a natural calamity. This is the result of administrative negligence,” wrote Ms. Atishi, urging the CM to direct the PWD Minister to take “immediate steps to restore water supply in Kalkaji”.

‘Continuous work’

Earlier in the day, while posting videos on X to show how the government has worked to prevent waterlogging-prone spots from being inundated, Mr. Singh said in a remark in Hindi: “Nigambodh Ghat, Minto Bridge, Mahipalpur, Saket — where water used to accumulate every monsoon, now traffic passes through without stopping.”

“This change didn’t happen by chance,” he said, adding, “Our government has been working continuously to eliminate waterlogging and improve the city that was ruined by AAP’s negligence.” The Minister has repeatedly said that while his department is doing all it can to prevent waterlogging, it cannot undo “11 years of neglect” by the AAP government.

Traffic diversions

Reports of inundated stretches, uprooted trees, and heavy traffic came from many parts of the national capital throughout the day. Traffic was diverted from the Azad Market railway underpass, Ram Bagh Road, and other flooded stretches. Delhi Traffic Police issued several advisories on diversions on X, one of which urged commuters to opt for Delhi Metro services.