The first heavy showers on Friday the 28th June brought lots of water in the elite colony of South Delhi to create havoc and discomfort to hundreds of residents of Defence colony. The residents woke up around 5 am and started calling all the helplines of the colony and various authorities of Delhi (MCD/DJB/fire brigade/police). The main reason for these calls were as follows:
1) More than 300 basements were completely filled with water-destroyed crores of valuables including furniture, equipment, servers, inverters, lifts and documents of lawyers and other offices all over the colony.
2) Almost all the roads were filled with more than 1-2 feet of water and in some cases even reached ground floor of the houses
3) More than 1000 cars and other vehicles were submerged in water!
4) The central Nallah road, DCWA club road, market were the worst affected areas reported by the residents! Most of the sewers were blocked in the service lanes and other areas.
5) There were many big trees that fell and branches were seen all over the colony; also broke few electricity wires which resulted in no electricity in the colony for many hours!
While we all tried to support each other by arranging water pumps, plumbers, MCD staff, coordination with councilor, MLA but due to limitations and non-availability of proper equipment like water pumping machines, the overall process took 2- 3 days to bring back life to normal!
What’s done by the colonies around us!
The most talked about colony was GK-1 S block where not even one inch of water was seen in the colony. All the water drains were functioning smoothly, no sewers choked! The main reason was the excellent coordination by their local RWA with the DJB and MCD from January onwards to clear all the drains, pipelines, rain water drains etc.
Why are these issues reported by the residents?
There are no pre-monsoon activities planned or executed by the DJB, MCD which is the main reason of these disasters!
The central Kushak Drain was covered in a hurry is now choked to full and throws back sewer water during the monsoon!! There may be more than 1000 truckload of garbage, plastic, etc. which needs to be cleared on top priority by these authorities!
All the new houses built in colony have basements and stilts which have been extended till the main gate to cover the rain water drains (nallis in front of all houses) to block the flow of water to the central Nallah. Almost all these rain water drains are blocked as the MCD workers cannot clear the garbage lying underneath!
The RWA’s are also helpless as the elected MLA, councilor or even MP are not able to resolve these alarming issues which are experienced by the residents during monsoons!!
When we contacted the DJB and MCD officials, they explained the reasons including construction in Kotla, old pipelines, blocked sewer lines, blocked Nallaha, increase in number of dwelling units etc. etc.!
The commercialization in the colony (more than 1000 offices, restaurants, parlors, etc. are adding to the pressure on the old pipelines and sewers.
How to resolve it?
The Central Nallah needs to be cleaned and cleared completely to regulate the flow of sewer water coming from the Defence colony as well as from the other colonies! This is not a one-week project but will take minimum 3-4 months and requires regular coordination from as the RWA’s. We suggest we create a disaster management committee (2-3 elected residents from each block) to start the execution immediately.
The MCD and DJB needs to be coordinated to create 3-5 lids over every ramp at the entrances to ensure regular cleaning of rain water drains by the MCD staff. In case of any defaults, the MCD must issue heavy challans followed by breaking of ramps to support the fellow residents! Once these drains are cleared, sewers are cleaned, Central Nallah is taken care, the monsoons will become enjoyable for all of us.
RWA has sufficient funds to purchase 10-15 heavy duty water pumps which may be used for the residents in case of water flooding the basements or ground floors!
Lastly, we at Samvada would like to request all the readers and residents to please get their front drains and sewers cleared immediately by using these authorities (directly or through RWA’s or helpline groups). If required spend some money to get them cleared jointly with your fellow residents. Each lane must have one water pumping machine which may be used in case of emergency by the affected residents!
Hope to see some changes in our colony as per the above guidelines which are shared by the seniors and experienced residents who are specialists in this field and are ready to support the residents to make our colony livable and most enjoyable. Even in monsoons!! God Bless all!!
