Welcome rains, save water: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister today advocated rain water harvesting even as he asked concerned departments to take appropriate measures to resolve rain-related problems.

"Citizens and (government) agencies should welcome rains, rather than having any fear of the rains," Kejriwal said at a meeting to take stock of flood control measures and preparedness of different departments in the national capital.

"Water is precious and we should look for ways to save more and more water," he said.

Kejriwal also suggested that all departments and agencies respond better to complaints of rain-related problems like waterlogging, in a coordinated manner, rather than in isolation.

When the goal of government agencies is same, all departments should join hands together to handle the situation, he said.

Till Saturday, Delhi received 147.8 mm rainfall, the highest this season. The rains caused waterlogging in many areas, prompting the Delhi government to launch a helpline to register complaints on the matter.

At the meeting, Kejriwal reviewed the flood control work of different agencies and also took stock of the preparedness of the concerned departments in view of the forecast for more rains.

PWD said that 150 mobile pumps were installed to ensure removal of water and that it has stationed permanent pumps at low inclined areas.

Kejriwal called for a long term plan to resolve the issue instead of installing pumps every year for dewatering.

The two-hour-long meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Ministers Gopal Rai, Kapil Mishra and Asim Ahmed Khan. Senior officials of the state government and officials of civic agencies also took part.