NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Wednesday apologised to residents for waterlogging following heavy rain over the past two days, acknowledging that water took more than an hour to drain from some areas and promising to strengthen its systems to prevent a repeat.NDMC chairman Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said the civic body generally clears waterlogging within 15-20 minutes, but the situation was different at three to four locations on Tuesday.“More than 72 mm of rainfall was recorded in less than two hours,” Dwivedi said in a post on X, describing the intensity of the spell as “unexpected”.“Usually we can clear the waterlogging within 15-20 minutes. But despite our best efforts in at least 3-4 areas water was fully drained out in more than an hour,” he said.Dwivedi, however, said the intensity of the rainfall could not be cited as a reason for the inconvenience caused to residents.“This cannot be an excuse and we will have to strengthen our systems to deal with such situations in future.”He also invited suggestions from residents on ways to improve the civic body’s response, PTI reported.According to officials, the NDMC received dozens of complaints related to waterlogging, fallen trees and power outages across the Lutyens’ area over the past two days.The national capital recorded more than 90 mm of rainfall at several weather stations. Safdarjung recorded 99.1 mm of cumulative rainfall till 8.30 am on Tuesday, according to the weather department.NDMC complaint records show that seven waterlogging complaints were received on August 24 from locations including Connaught Place, Gol Dak Khana, Lodhi Estate, Sarojini Nagar, DIZ Area near Gole Market and outside Lady Hardinge Medical College.Five complaints related to fallen trees were also recorded that day, including incidents in Laxmibai Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, near Lady Hardinge Medical College and near the Ghana Embassy.Seven power outage complaints were recorded from areas including Connaught Place, Khan Market and R K Ashram.Dwivedi said the civic body would take both short- and long-term measures to make the NDMC area “fully waterlogging-free”.“We will work to ensure that our citizens should not face any inconvenience in future,” he said, again inviting suggestions from residents.On Wednesday morning, a large tree fell inside Vitthal Bhai Patel House in Lutyens’ Delhi, damaging at least four vehicles parked nearby.Waterlogging was also reported across several key parts of Delhi on Tuesday as rainwater accumulated on roads and major junctions. In central Delhi, Ashoka Road, Raisina Road and Parliament Street were among the affected stretches.The Parliament complex also witnessed waterlogging, along with areas near RML Hospital, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Connaught Place.Heavy rainfall lashed Delhi on Monday and Tuesday, triggering waterlogging and other rain-related complaints across several parts of the city.(With agency inputs)
