Desilting: PWD needs to speed up

NEW DELHI: This monsoon will be a litmus test for the public works department (PWD) which has announced that it will do a better job at de-silting drains than the corporations. They have already postponed the deadline for completing the work to June 15.
“De-silting work on 488 roads (around 704km of drain length) is in the finishing stage. We have weekly meetings on monsoon preparedness which is being monitored at the highest level,” said director (works) PWD Ravi Mathur.
Of the 899 roads with PWD at the moment, desilting work has been completed in only 384 roads (around 460km of drain length). “Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has 27 roads as Metro work is going on. It’s their responsibility to maintain those roads and drains,” said a senior PWD official.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police has pointed out 157 waterlogging areas of which 142 come under PWD. “We have addressed the problems in 122 of these locations and taken corrective measures. Six other points are currently with the corporations or other civic agencies for digging work. The rest of the areas will be dealt with by June 15,” he added.
Waterlogging is noticed in these areas on a regular basis and PWD officials say remedial measures include cleaning drains, installing tanks and pumps and repairing roads. “Some areas, like subways, will have tanks positioned with a pump so that the accumulated water can be pumped out,” said the official.
PWD is also microsurfacing some roads where cracks have developed. “It looks patchy but it’s necessary so that water does not accumulate and worsen the condition. Microsurfacing adds two years to the road life and riding quality improves. Proper bitumen surfacing will be done after monsoon,” said the official.
Bad roads also contribute to waterlogging and roads that were taken over from the corporations are yet to be completely repaired. “We have finished 70% of the work. We will do as much as possible before monsoon and wrap-up after it ends,” said the official.