It rained in Delhi yesterday and today, some of us had to swim to get groceries. It just grinds my gears but how… how is it that the national capital gets flooded by a couple of hours of rain. 

Gfycat

Yeah, just a few hours. It wasn’t like 100-year-old banyan trees were crashing down. It was raining, and I can’t stress this enough, for a few hours. 

Times of India

How is everything flooded? Did everyone forget to make drains when they were building this town or did no one think of it when they made it the Capital?

And it’s not like it just happened yesterday.This happens every time. Every year. And guess what, IT DOESN’T EVEN RAIN THAT MUCH IN DELHI. I am from East India. Trust me. I know what heavy rains look like!

Deccan Herald

And I am not the only one complaining!

According to a report by Hindustan Times, it all comes down to poor infrastructure. Several arterial roads and drains have faulty slopes that do not allow rainwater to recede naturally. All of this can be fixed BTW. 

… Because we have no separate sewer lines in nearly 50% of the city, including the upscale colonies of south Delhi, sewer manholes start overflowing every times it rains.

-Sarvagaya Kumar Srivastava, former engineer-in-chief, PWD

A master plan for NCT of Delhi, prepared by a team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 2018, had highlighted the need for the city’s stormwater drains to remain free of sewage and solid waste. 

Indian Express

The plan had also noted that Delhi Jal Board’s practice of puncturing sewer lines to drain waste into stormwater lines needed to be stopped. 

Gfycat

These are just some of the many reasons that lead to the clogging of this city every time it rains. 

In a reply to the National Green Tribunal’s order in 2014-15, the state govt’s irrigation and flood control department had revealed that 44 of the 201 big drains carrying rainwater to the Yamuna were ‘missing’. 

Imgur

Look, it may be the bureaucracy or just the lack of common sense, either way, it’s us who suffers. Actually, we still have homes. There are many others who have water enter their houses when it rains. 

Accomodation Timesq

If you are from Delhi, please feel free to take offence. This is your city. It’s the national capital. Our governments need to do better. We need to get them to do better.