Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, who heads the national capital’s Public Works and Irrigation Flood Control Departments, on Sunday, blamed a century-old British-era barrel drainage system for persistent waterlogging in Connaught Place’s outer circle.
The minister identified the outdated barrel drainage system and decades of surrounding construction as the root causes of flooding along a 100-metre stretch near the famous Kake Da Hotel. “Over time, construction of surrounding buildings in Connaught Place reduced the size of these barrels, restricting the natural water flow and causing frequent waterlogging,” he explained.
During a visit to the site on Sunday, he informed that two high-capacity pumps were installed to ease the load on the drain and push water forward more efficiently.
Singh visited the clogged portion, first on Saturday night, where he noted that water entered some shops, prompting the PWD to conduct a detailed point-by-point study to find permanent solutions.
Expressing grief over the tragic death of a two-and-a-half-year-old child who fell into a sewer, the Minister said, “This is an extremely unfortunate and heartbreaking incident. We are committed to taking all necessary measures to ensure such tragedies never happen again.”
On Saturday, eight people, including three children and two women, lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Delhi. Both tragedies occurred in the morning following heavy overnight rainfall on Friday. In Khurd Khera village, North Delhi, a 2.5-year-old boy died after accidentally falling into an open manhole near his home while playing in the rain. In a separate incident in the Hari Nagar slum area of Jaitpur, seven residents, including two women and two children, were killed when a wall, weakened by continuous rainfall, collapsed onto their shanties.