Yes… the system is choked. Such a choke that the water raining from the sky does not find a way out and the common man remains trapped in the cocktail of gutters and rain water. Rain is a gift that is waited for by everyone, from farmers to people living in cities. Clouds rain, dry earth gets relief, trees and plants get new life and crops get life. But in our cities rain does not bring relief but brings disaster. As soon as it rains continuously for two hours, the pace of the metros stops. Roads become ponds, vehicles stop and people become afraid of leaving their homes.

Thursday morning was similar in Delhi-NCR also. After overnight rain, roads in Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi were submerged in water. The most surprising thing was that despite the worsening situation, schools opened on time in many places. In Ghaziabad, the administration announced holiday when the school buses had left with the children. Many schools in Noida called the children and later had to dismiss them early due to lack of electricity. The question is that when the Meteorological Department had already warned of heavy rain, then why was the decision not taken in time?

Somewhere traffic jam, somewhere death due to electric shock

The pictures of Ghaziabad were revealing the reality of the system. There are flats worth crores of rupees in posh areas like Vasundhara and Indirapuram, but after the first rain all the shine has faded. Roads turned into drains. Cars, bikes, buses and pedestrians were seen struggling with gutters and rain water. There was also news of death of one person due to electrocution in Indirapuram. An Amity School bus got stuck on the road and people pushed it out. The only saving grace was that there were no children in the bus at that time. On the other hand, an auto stopped in the middle of the road and small school children were seen pushing it. This scene was not just a picture, but a big question on administrative preparation.

The situation was no different in Noida, which is claimed to be a modern and planned city. The road outside Father Agnel School had turned into a river. The children had reached school, but after an hour due to power failure a message of dismissal was suddenly sent. People going to office in the morning were stuck in traffic for hours. Many vehicles got stuck in the water and people kept searching for a way out in the water flowing on the road.

It is repeatedly said that the drainage system of Delhi-NCR is old. This is also correct. The current drainage system of Delhi was prepared about 50 years ago. According to available reports, the Drainage Master Plan of 1976 was designed keeping in mind the population at that time and 50 mm rainfall in 24 hours. But the question is that on July 8, Delhi received only 26 mm of rain, that is, less than the capacity of the system, yet why was there waterlogging from Sadar Bazaar to the residences of MPs? This simply means that the problem is not only about the old drainage, but also about its care, cleaning and timely maintenance.

In Delhi, the Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for three hours in the morning. Despite this, sewers were seen overflowing in areas like Rajghat, BD Marg, Laxmi Nagar and Sadar Bazaar. Gutter water was flowing on the road near Rajghat. Traffic started crawling in Lakshmi Nagar even before seven in the morning. At many places, parents had to carry small children in their laps and cross water-filled roads.

Delhi government says that a control room has been set up to deal with waterlogging and the situation is better than before. It is also true that this time some places like Minto Road and Prahladpur Underpass, which used to get submerged every year, were not in the same situation as before. That means efforts have been made to improve. But it is equally true that the first big rain once again proved that distribution of responsibilities among different agencies is also a big problem. The drainage and sewage system in Delhi is divided among several agencies like MCD, NDMC, PWD, DDA and Delhi Jal Board. When accountability is divided, the answer also gets lost.

The situation is not limited to cities only. The mood of the weather is also changing rapidly. Due to climate change the term “new normal” is now being used. That means the old weather pattern has now changed. Now if it is hot, it will break records, if it rains, it will be torrential in a short time and if winter comes, it will bring colder than usual. This is the reason why incidents like sudden cloud bursts in the mountains and overflowing drains are increasing continuously.

At many places in Uttarakhand, people had to risk their lives to cross the roads amid overflowing drains. A man was seen crossing a fast flowing drain with a small child tied with a cloth on his back. This picture shows how dangerous the weather is now becoming.

Shocking pictures from across the country

A surprising picture also emerged from Raigarh in Maharashtra. After heavy rains, thousands of LPG gas cylinders were seen flowing in the Patalganga river. Actually, due to water logging in the warehouse, about three thousand cylinders were washed away in the river. The administration had to appeal to the people that if anyone found a cylinder, it should be returned.

An alert of heavy to very heavy rain has been issued in Uttarakhand for the next 48 hours. The Meteorological Department has issued warnings in many districts including Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Champawat. 71 roads have already been closed at the beginning of monsoon and the situation may become more challenging in the coming days.

Simply put, the same picture is visible from Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad to the mountains. Rain is not the problem, the problem is lack of preparation. Every year before the arrival of monsoon, crores of rupees are spent on cleaning of drains, drainage system and drainage schemes. But the very first heavy rain exposes those claims.

Governments will have to modernize drainage systems, establish better coordination between agencies and take timely decisions. At the same time, citizens will also have to avoid habits like throwing garbage in drains. Because until administrative preparation and citizen responsibility do not come together, the same picture of cities will continue to emerge every rainy season – there will be less rainfall and more failure of the system.

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