Flooding near IGI airport after heavy rain reveals coordination gaps ahead of BRICS summit

New Delhi: The heavy rain on Friday afternoon left several parts of the city waterlogged, particularly around the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, raising concerns about a potential lack of coordination among various agencies in the national capital, especially with the BRICS Summit scheduled for next week.

The national capital is gearing up to host the two-day BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam on September 12 and 13.

After the heavy rain, the Dwarka underpass, which belongs to the Public Works Department (PWD) and connects to the Palam area on one side and the IGI domestic area, was heavily flooded.


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"We deployed temporary pumps at the locations to clear out the water. The catchment area of the underpass is big, and due to flooding of the nearby Mehrampur area, there was waterlogging in the tunnel, which was cleared later," a PWD official said.

A DTC bus was stranded in this underpass for a short time; however, after a few minutes, the water was cleared, and other buses on the same route were diverted.

According to directions issued specifically for underpasses under flood control order, the PWD's ground team is required to immediately notify the control room if water stagnation reaches 6 to 8 inches, and to deploy mobile pumps.

"In case water level continues to rise even after pumps are started, the control room informs the Traffic Police to stop traffic movement in the affected underpass. DTC is contacted and informed of the situation and advised to divert buses from the route," the official added.

However, this was not the only waterlogged area; another underpass connecting Mahipalpur, Mehrauli, and Vasant Kunj was also flooded.

PWD officials claimed that the other area facing waterlogging around IGI belonged to other agencies. "The other underpasses and roads belong to DIAL and NHAI agencies, not PWD," a Delhi government official said.

On August 26, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu held a review meeting with all relevant agencies to address waterlogging in the city. He emphasised the need for a "whole of government" approach, encouraging all departments and agencies to work together in complete synergy rather than in silos.

Singh also directed the PWD and other agencies to submit a report on waterlogging-related issues by the end of August.