To avoid buses getting stuck at underpasses during monsoon, the public works department (PWD) of the Delhi government has directed its officials to ensure that no DTC bus passes through an underpass if the water level rises there above six inches. The PWD has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with flood situations during the upcoming rainy season. Monsoon usually arrives in Delhi in the last week of June. In its annual flood-control order issued by the PWD, the department has directed its executive engineers to strictly adhere to the SOP formulated for underpasses. According to officials, in case the water level at an underpass is more than six inches, the Delhi Transport Corporation will be contacted and informed of the situation and advised to divert buses from the route. According to the directive, in case the water level continues to rise even after de-watering pumps are pressed into service, the control room will inform the traffic police to stop traffic movement at the affected underpass. In the past, it has often been seen that buses and vehicles get stuck at flooded underpasses and low-lying areas. The control room will also intimate the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and alert it to the rising level of water stagnation, the order said. The PWD issues this order every year, defining the functions of all its officials for the monsoon season. This year, around 70 per cent of the de-silting work has so far been done by the PWD. June 30 for the remaining work. Every day since coming to power in Delhi, we are uncovering the new truth -- drains fully choked, lines never desilted, and zero groundwork done in the last 10 years. This is the real legacy of the Kejriwal government. 70 per cent of PWD drains have been desilted till now, PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said in a post on X on Friday. In response, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the lieutenant governor should be held accountable for any de-silting exercise that did not take place in the national capital over the last two years. In spite of being raised by the then minister, the LG chose not to investigate the corruption for reasons best known to the LG. The BJP is not left with any excuse to pass the buck on any other agency because every drain in the state of Delhi is under the direct control of BJP-ruled agencies, AAPs Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said. This year, the department has put 194 locations on its watchlist. Of these, 126 locations belong to the PWD and 61 belong either to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Delhi Metro, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) or New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). There are six waterlogging hotspots for which no agency has taken ownership and the jurisdiction is not clear. These spots include the Central Market on TT Park Road, near Kapashera on Maharishi Dayanand Marg, near Mandi village on Mandi Road and near the Iron bridge on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. According to the monsoon preparedness plan, the PWD has installed pumps in the northeast. It has identified the Vivek Vihar underpass in the northwest, the Prembari Pul and Zakhira underpasses in west Delhi, the Bhera Enclave underpass in the southeast circle, the Kasturba Nagar, Ashram and Pul Prahadpur underpasses, and the Minto Bridge and Tilak Road underpasses in central Delhi. The PWD has deployed water-pumping sets at these locations and strict online monitoring is being done from the control room.

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