Delhi rains: Lieutenant Governor holds emergency meeting, officials' leave cancelled

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday took stock of the situation in Delhi after hours-long rain brought the city to a standstill and directed officials to set up an emergency control room and deploy static pumps to address waterlogging reports.

Chairing an emergency meeting, the LG said all senior officers on leave should be asked to report back to duty immediately and no leave should be sanctioned for the next two months, according to his office.In a post on 'X', Saxena said the heads of departments have been directed to ensure immediate steps to ease the situation and strictly implement measures to mitigate its recurrence.

"It is shocking that the Flood Control Order and desilting of drains that should have been issued and completed by 15.06.24 are yet pending. The Flood Control Order, normally issued after the Apex Committee meeting chaired by the Hon'ble CM is pending with the Hon'ble Minister," he said in another post.

According to the LG office, Saxena also took note of the lack of preparedness and an emergency response system in the national capital. 

He asked the officials to undertake the drain de-silting work on an emergency basis over the next week. The LG asked officials to set up an emergency control room for waterlogging complaints. 

The control room should be manned round the clock by senior officials, it said.

In a series of directions, Saxena asked for functional static pumps with deployment of field staff by agencies, use of mobile pumps in low-lying areas like unauthorised colonies, regular traffic advisories on waterlogging and preventive measures by power discoms so that there were no open electricity wires and incidents of short circuit.

The Irrigation and Flood Control Department was directed to remain in touch with their counterparts in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to assess rainfall levels and water discharges from the Hathnikund barrage, officials said.

They said the LG directed the revenue department to activate the disaster response cell under the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in case of excess rainfall and seek assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for any emergency measures during the monsoon.

Senior officers of civic agencies like the Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, Irrigation and Flood Control Department and the Delhi Police attended the meeting.

Delhi government's Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar was directed by the LG to convene a meeting to ensure that the Yamuna floodplains and major drains are cleared of all kinds of debris, officials added.