{"id":354877,"date":"2025-07-11T03:10:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T08:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=354877"},"modified":"2025-07-11T03:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T08:40:55","slug":"is-delhi-ready-for-monsoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/is-delhi-ready-for-monsoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Delhi ready for monsoon?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-354878\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-300x179.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-696x414.jpg 696w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-706x420.jpg 706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: Naveen Bansal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With monsoon clouds already gathering over Delhi, the question on every resident\u2019s mind is both familiar and urgent: is the city ready for the rains?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Year after year, Delhi\u2019s first downpour triggers the same response\u2014waterlogged roads, traffic chaos, and flooded homes in low-lying areas. This season, city authorities say they\u2019ve taken \u201cproactive measures\u201d to avoid the annual disruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claims to have completed over 90 per cent of drain desilting by mid-June. The Public Works Department (PWD) has identified 445 waterlogging hotspots and assigned engineers to monitor them during peak rainfall hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, early showers in July have already exposed gaps. Areas like Shahdara, Narela, and part of South Delhi reported water accumulation within minutes of moderate rainfall. In several locations, the silt removed from drains was left piled on the roadside, only to wash back in with the rain\u2014negating the entire exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"954\" height=\"567\" src=\"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-354879\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1.jpg 954w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1-768x456.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1-696x414.jpg 696w, https:\/\/tehelka.com\/media\/2025\/07\/Rain-1-707x420.jpg 707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 954px) 100vw, 954px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo: Naveen Bansal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespite the claims, numerous reports and social media post indicate widespread waterlogging across the city, with residents reporting knee-deep water on roads and in residential,\u201d a user wrote on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts argue that Delhi\u2019s drainage system, much of which dates back to the 1970s, is no longer adequate for a city of over 30 million people. Rapid urbanization, concretization of green spaces, and unregulated construction over natural drains have all contributed to the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Administrative coordination is another obstacle. Responsibility for drainage lies with multiple agencies\u2014the MCD, NDMC, PWD, DDA, and Delhi Jal Board\u2014leading to overlap, confusion, and often, inaction. Last year, a delayed response to clogged drains in South Delhi was blamed on jurisdictional ambiguity between the PWD and NDMC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some places, improvements are visible. The notorious Minto Bridge underpass, often submerged after heavy rain, remained dry during early July storms thanks to upgraded pumps and regular maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, as heavier rains loom, Delhi\u2019s readiness remains uneven. Without systemic reform and inter-agency coordination, residents may once again find themselves wading through yet another monsoon mess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With monsoon clouds already gathering over Delhi, the question on every resident\u2019s mind is both familiar and urgent: is the city ready for the rains? Year after year, Delhi\u2019s first downpour triggers the same response\u2014waterlogged roads, traffic chaos, and flooded homes in low-lying areas. This season, city authorities say they\u2019ve taken \u201cproactive measures\u201d to avoid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":354878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2014],"tags":[16060,17273,18820,16404],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354877"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354880,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354877\/revisions\/354880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/354878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}