NEW DELHI: Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Devender Yadav on Sunday criticised the BJP-led government for its inability to effectively address the city’s drainage and flooding issues.
Yadav’s remarks came after PWD Minister Parvesh Verma’s statement calling the recent heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding of Delhi’s streets a “wake-up call.”
The Minister promised that all stormwater drains in the city would be desilted by May 30, but Yadav described this target as unrealistic, noting that no visible steps had been taken on the ground to clean the drains. The recent downpour had left large parts of the city submerged, with even the usually bustling ITO area affected by massive traffic jams. Yadav pointed out that while the Minister seemed particularly concerned about flooding in the posh Golf Links area, he appeared to ignore the difficulties faced by ordinary residents.
Yadav also accused the previous administration of AAP government of misleading the people of Delhi with unfulfilled promises of drainage and sewer maintenance. “Funds allocated for cleaning the city’s drains were misused by AAP ministers who led to last year’s flooding and the tragic loss of over 40 lives. Now, the BJP government has followed the same,” he said.
Yadav criticised both Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Minister Parvesh Verma for setting 21-day deadlines to clean Delhi’s garbage and complete desilting work. He expressed doubts about whether the work would be completed on time, predicting that the city would face more flooding when the monsoon rains arrived.