Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
New Delhi: Public Works Department (PWD) has begun constructing additional drains at the Minto Road railway underpass and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg to address waterlogging issues at flood-prone locations. The work, however, has caused a slowdown in traffic in the area, inconveniencing commuters.
According to PWD officials, the new drainage systems are being installed alongside existing ones. “The Minto Road underbridge drain will connect to the intersection pump near the railway line while the DDU Marg drain will link to the Tilak Bridge pump,” said a PWD official.
Sources indicated that the department, which commenced the work more than a week ago, aims to finish the project before the monsoon season begins. A spot visit by TOI revealed that while drain construction at the underbridge was partially complete, excavation work was still on the opposite side and along DDU Marg’s left carriageway, near Kali Mandir.
Several areas, including the Minto underbridge, experienced severe waterlogging following heavy rainfall on Friday, which disrupted traffic flow. PWD minister Parvesh Verma had also conducted a site inspection.
Meanwhile, the drain construction work is causing traffic congestion at the intersection and surrounding roads, with commuters travelling to New Delhi Railway Station and Connaught Place expressing frustration about being caught in snarls.
“Considering a significant portion of the road is occupied for work, vehicles are forced to veer into a single lane, drastically slowing movement in an area already prone to jams,” said a commuter.
Another commuter, who recently found himself caught in a bottleneck said, “Work has been going on at the Minto Road-DDU Marg T-point for more than a week now, and it’s slowed down traffic considerably. A few days ago, I went to New Delhi Railway Station to pick up my in-laws. I left with what should have been ample buffer time. But by the time I reached, their train had already arrived.”
“When I went to drop them, we left around 2.30pm for a 4.30pm Rajdhani to Sealdah. The roads were clear — until we reached Kali Mandir. The digging, which started the previous Sunday, had stretched further by then. The left carriageway of DDU Marg was dug up almost halfway, loose soil spilling over onto the remaining lane, with uneven surfaces and traffic crawling,” he added.
When TOI visited the spot, only a single barricade was in place and the loose silt posed an additional inconvenience to pedestrians, with dust frequently blowing into their eyes.
Traffic officials said that work is underway by civic agencies to resolve a waterlogging point before the monsoon. “Inconvenience may be caused for a few days, but our staff is present there to manage it, and there is even a traffic signal,” said a traffic police official.
Mayank Rawat
