NEW DELHI: The newly inaugurated underpass of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor was waterlogged after the very first monsoon downpour, belying the tall claims made by the Public Works Department.
The 1.3-km tunnel, which connects India Gate with the Ring Road, was constructed at a cost of Rs 920 crore. With the roads in the area flooded and traffic moving at snail’s pace, commuters who preferred the tunnel for travelling swiftly were in for a rude jolt.
A commuter posted a video of the waterlogged tunnel and tweeted, “The tunnel road to Pragati Maidan, Delhi. Billions of rupees became a canal in the very first rain.” Earlier, the PWD officials had claimed that the tunnel was equipped with automatic pumps along with seven underground sumps for prompt drainage of water. A new drainage network of wider pipes with high water discharge capacity has been laid in and around the tunnel to prevent waterlogging, they had claimed.
PWD officials, however, asserted the tunnel was flooded only for a brief period as it took some time to drain out the water because of “high intensity” of rain. “There was waterlogging for only 15 minutes because of some obstruction in the pump,” said an official.
During the inauguration of the underpass, experts had raised concern that it might get flooded because of its proximity to the river Yamuna. The area is located right next to Yamuna floodplain and the water table rise is quite high there.