NEW DELHI: Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Rajghat has been freed of waterlogging, a week after waters from the Yamuna river inundated the complex. Officials on Friday said, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena who was supervising the operation to drain flood water from the lawns and pathways of the memorial, visited Rajghat and took stock of the situation.
“Water from the main area of the memorial was completely pumped out and it was dried and cleaned now. Senior officers of the Delhi government, including the chief secretary, were constantly monitoring the work on the L-G’s instructions,” an official said.
Last week, waters from the Yamuna inundated the Ring Road and the situation worsened with backflow from a drain in the area inundating the memorial area. The operations to drain out flood waters started on Sunday and 10 pumps were used, officials added. In a tweet, the L-G said, “Sincere and consistent efforts since July 15 by all stakeholder agencies have resulted in the restoration of the Rajghat Samadhi area and its approach.” “The stagnant flood water has been substantially drained out and restoration of pavements and landscaping is underway,” he said.
MCD ready to combat vector-borne diseases: Mayor
Amid the threat of a “significant increase” in the number of cases of vector-borne diseases in the wake of recent flooding due to Yamuna waters, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Friday said the civic body was
all prepared to combat any such situation. At a press conference here, she also said that people should cooperate with dengue breeding checking (DBC) staff when they visit households and warned of penal action in case breeding of larvae is found during the inspection of sites.
“The PHED (public health and engineering department) and the MCD are all prepared to combat vector-borne diseases. Municipal councillors, MLAs and RWAs all stakeholders will work together in this, and
I appeal to people to cooperate with our DBC staff as well,” she said. The mayor said, “We don’t want to, but challan will be done if violations are found during the inspection of households, construction sites and other places.”