Last Updated on 01/08/2024 by wccexam Desk
When rain fell on Wednesday in Delhi-NCR, which is battling humid heat, it brought more trouble than relief. On Wednesday, the most dangerous rain of this season was recorded in Delhi-NCR. So much rain in a short time turned the roads into seas. A woman and her three-year-old child died in Ghazipur.
According to the Meteorological Department, there were many areas in Delhi-NCR where more than 100 mm of rain was recorded in an hour. When more than 100 mm of water falls within an hour, it is considered a ‘cloud burst’ type of rain.
Due to so much rain, most of the areas of Delhi were flooded. There was traffic jam on the roads in Delhi-NCR. After this, the Meteorological Department also issued a ‘Red Alert’. In view of this, schools and colleges were closed in Delhi on Thursday.
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How much trouble did the rain bring?
According to the Meteorological Department, on Wednesday, 147.5 mm of rain was recorded in East Delhi and 113 mm in South-West Delhi. Due to so much rain, at least 10 flights landing at Delhi airport were diverted. Eight landed at Jaipur and two at Lucknow airport.
Water filled up to the knees in Old Rajendra Nagar. A few days ago, three students of a coaching centre here died due to water filling in the basement. At the same time, water entered many showrooms and restaurants in Connaught Place.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that due to heavy rains, 4 calls were received regarding waterlogging and 3 calls regarding falling of trees. Along with this, there was power cut in many areas across Delhi.
The boundary wall of a school in Daryaganj in Old Delhi fell on the vehicles parked outside. The road caved in here too. Vehicles were seen floating on the roads in Chhatarpur in South Delhi. Waterlogging in the Pragati Maidan tunnel also created chaos.
The Meteorological Department has also issued a red alert for Thursday. The Meteorological Department has predicted rain in Delhi till August 5. (Photo-PTI)
But why does Delhi sink?
The kind of rain that happened in Delhi-NCR on Wednesday and the conditions that developed after it are not new for the people living here. Such conditions are created in Delhi-NCR every year.
One of the biggest reasons for this is that Delhi is moving towards urbanization at the fastest pace. According to the economic survey of the Delhi government, the scope of urbanization in the capital has doubled in the 20 years between 1991 and 2011. In 1991, the urban area in Delhi was 685 square kilometers, which increased to more than 1,113 square kilometers in 2011.
According to the United Nations report, by 2030 Delhi will be the most populous city in the world. Then the population of Delhi will be around 4 crores. Currently the most populous city is Tokyo.
However, this is not the only reason for such conditions in Delhi. It is believed that discussions have been going on since 1960 to make Delhi flood free, but its effect is not visible on the ground.
Is there something wrong with the planning?
In 1912, the British decided to make Delhi their capital. The responsibility of developing Delhi as the capital was given to British architect Edward Lutyens. It is said that Lutyens knew that the Yamuna river would cause floods in Delhi every year, but his concern was ignored because King George V had laid its foundation.
Former Delhi Development Authority (DDA) commissioner AK Jain had told NDTV that after independence, Delhi’s first master plan was prepared in 1962. In that plan, Yamuna river was described as ’empty land’. He had said that Delhi faces geographical challenges in its development, because on one side it has a river and on the other side there are mountains.
Not only this, 100 sq km area around Yamuna river has been declared as Zone O. This means that there will be no construction activity in this 100 sq km area. But despite this, hundreds of unauthorized colonies have come up here. The government is preparing to regularize them. (Photo-PTI)
Apart from this, there is a proposal to reduce the floodplain of Yamuna in the 2041 Master Plan. Floodplain is the land around the river. Currently, 10 thousand hectares of land is floodplain, but in the 2041 Master Plan, it has been recommended to declare only 6,400 hectares of land as floodplain. This means that the remaining 3,600 hectares of land will be developed and infrastructure will be built.
Now the problem with this will be that Delhi may have to face more dangerous floods in the coming times. Because the more empty land around the river to absorb the flood water, the better it will be. But by reducing the floodplain of Yamuna by 40%, we will have to face more floods in the coming times.
Decades old drainage system
Delhi is still dependent on a decades old drainage system. The last time a drainage system plan was prepared for Delhi was in 1976. At that time, the population of Delhi was around 40 lakh, but now more than 3 crore people live in the capital.
The drainage system that was designed in 1976 can only handle 50 mm of rain in 24 hours, but today more than 100 mm of rain is falling in an hour. Sewerage and drainage network has been designed to help the old drainage system, but this also creates the problem of backflow.
Experts believe that when the drainage master plan was prepared, it was made keeping in mind the current population of Delhi. But now a lot has changed. Since then, the population has increased manifold and is continuously increasing.
Now Delhi needs to expand the scope of the drainage system. At the same time, there is a need to make such arrangements so that the rainwater can go into the ground.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)