Badshahpur drain will be expanded by June 30

The widening of Badshahpur drain at Khandsa village will be completed by June 30, deputy commissioner Amit Khatri told chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar during a videoconference on monsoon preparedness on Thursday.

According to an official statement released by the district administration about the meeting, Khatri had also informed Khattar that the motor pump panels at Hero Honda Chowk underpass, which was inundated with 50 million litres rainwater last year, have been placed outside the underpass. He also said that nearly all stormwater drains in the city have been cleaned.

“Khatri informed the CM that the capacity of Badshahpur drain in Khandsa village is being increased to 1,800 cusecs and work is in the last phase of completion. It will be completed by June 30,” a spokesperson for the district administration said.

A 600-metre stretch in Khandsa village was identified as the main reason for the 2016 deluge, as the drain narrows in Khandsa, with its width reducing from 30 metres to 10 metres, leading to overflow of rainwater at Hero Honda Chowk and areas around it.

Khatri’s announcement though comes less than 10 days after Chander Shekhar Khare, administrator of the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), on June 3, stated that work on the Badshahpur drain would be completed within a week’s time.

Khatri also informed the CM that the panels which have controls of eight motor pumps at Hero Honda Chowk underpass have now been placed outside the underpass to ensure they are operational even if they are submerged in the rainwater.

Last August, 50 million litres of water had accumulated at the Hero Honda Chowk underpass, primarily due to backflow of rainwater flowing from the Badshahpur drain in Khandsa village. Within a few hours of rainwater accumulation, the panels had gotten submerged under water and stopped working. It took officials more than 50 hours to make the underpass operational.

Besides, additional pump sets have been also been arranged with the facility of power backup, said officials.

First Published: Jun 14, 2019 03:41 IST