BJP, AAP exchange blames over waterlogging woes in Delhi

New Delhi: The BJP on Monday blamed the AAP government for waterlogging woes in Delhi after the rains last week and warned the situation could recur as around 300 drain pumps were still not functioning.

The meteorological department has issued an "orange" alert for rains in Delhi for the next two days.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged the primary reason for the flooding on June 28 was the Arvind Kejriwal government's "failure" to operate water drainage pumps.

"If it rains again, Delhi will flood again," he claimed and added that on June 28, out of Delhi's 696 permanent water drainage pumps, 400 were not working and "even now almost 300 are not operational".

The ruling AAP in Delhi claimed in a statement that the maximum flooding occurred in areas of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) which is under the BJP-led central government.

"The BJP is pointing fingers at the Delhi government to hide from the reality of the flooding in the homes of MPs, ministers and judges," it charged.

"There is clearly corruption in NDMC that has led to this severe flooding. Never before have the homes of MPs, ministers and judges flooded. What has happened to all the funds earmarked for desilting?" the Aam Aadmi Party said, demanding a reply from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Vice chairman of NDMC Satish Upadhyay hit back at AAP, alleging, "They themselves are involved in deep corruption. It's a joke when they talk about others or NDMC and they should look within." Sachdeva dubbed as a "lame excuse" the argument that additional water drainage pumps could not be installed due to the model code of conduct for Lok Sabha polls.

"The code ended on June 5 and the Public Works Department Minister Atishi, could have acted for the installation of additional pumps by June 20. She should disclose how many permanent and temporary water drainage pumps are needed during the monsoon and how many are currently operational," said Sachdeva.

He demanded that the AAP government provide an ex gratia of Rs one crore to the families of those who died due to waterlogging in the city.

"According to our information, more than 100 pumps were non-functional because they did not have diesel," Sachdeva claimed.

"Additionally, 465 pumps are installed in Delhi by the Delhi Jal Board, the Flood Department, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and most of these are still not working," he claimed.

Atishi visited the pumping station at Minto Road Bridge, and even then, three out of eight pumps were not operational, he claimed.

The AAP alleged that the "poorly designed" infrastructure built for the G-20 Summit in 2023 was also causing water logging.