The recent pre-monsoon showers have once again exposed the lack of preparedness of civic agencies both in Delhi as well as the National Capital Region. It has become a regular feature when showers bring about complete disruption of life, and severely affect traffic and normal life in the region. A photograph of a bus stranded in deep water under the Minto Bridge near Connaught Place features every year in national dailies, and there is nothing that has been done over a long period of time, to ensure that this does not happen. A little bit of rain leads to acute waterlogging in several parts of the city. In Gurgaon, in particular, where there does not seem to be any arrangement for having storm water drains near the main avenues, life virtually comes to a standstill with roads under knee or thigh deep water. The power situation also gets impacted leading to hardship for the residents, majority of whom do not have a back-up facility. The New Delhi Municipal Council area which is also referred to as the Lutyen’s zone, also witnesses the wrath of nature despite huge funds at the disposal of the authorities. Many years ago, there used to be storm water drains, which would run parallel to main thoroughfares but a decision to cover them and replace them with underground pipes was taken. On the face of it, this was the correct way of modernising things and moving forward, but somewhere down the line, the engineering basics seemed to have faltered. There were also allegations that on paper, the pipes that were put to carry the water were of dimensions other than those which were fitted. This is something which only an inquiry can establish. In the areas which fall under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation, things are equally or rather more dismal. There is waterlogging and lack of imagination which seems to have gone in designing roads and the diversions. So far as underpasses, which get inaugurated every year, are concerned, the less said the better. There is water that gets stalled thereby preventing any kind of traffic to pass. Recently in Bangalore, a woman was drowned in an underpass and this kind of thing can happen also in the national capital. It is obvious that little care is taken to ensure free passage of water which flows down the gradient in these underpasses and has no sufficient outlet to keep the way free. The monsoons and rains are followed by an outbreak of some epidemic or the other. Cases of Dengue, Malaria, Typhoid and other disease rise all of a sudden, and there is virtually also an outbreak of cholera and gastro-enteritis which does not get as much attention as it should. In short, the bureaucrats and the babus, like always absolve themselves of any later responsibility, by convening meetings and putting everything on paper instead of on the ground. In 1988, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had transferred three key officials of Delhi government and its allied civic agencies, besides suspending three engineers after gross negligence was detected following the outbreak of cholera. The political establishment has to ensure that matters related to civic affairs are not entirely left to the officials and there is regular monitoring done at various levels. The Delhi and NCR region cannot be made to suffer because of the apathy and carelessness of the bureaucracy and inefficient politicians.
