Delhi: Waterlogging complaints flood PWD control room as rains increase this year

As rains continue to lash Delhi, the Public Works Department’s control room has not had a moment of respite from complaints of waterlogging.

On July 19, it had received 270 complaints when the national capital recorded 69.6 mm of rains.

“We have been receiving more complaints than ever before as the number of days when heavy rains were recorded is much more than previous years,” an official said.

According to the IMD, 64.5-124.4 mm of rains in 24 hours is classified as heavy rain.

The staff at the control room address calls and check for complaints on Twitter and Facebook as well. They make a record of the complaints and inform the concerned field officer.

In 2019, there were more than 100 complaints on two days, while in 2020, that number stood four days. This year, however, they have already received over 100 complaints on six days so far.

Officials said that on July 27 and July 29, although rainfall increased, the number of complaints decreased to 158 and 108 respectively.

A staff posted at the control room said they receive most complaints on WhatsApp and Twitter. “Since more people are familiar with the control room numbers now, we sometimes get repetitive complaints from two different parts of the same area but we have to register them separately,” the employee said.

They keep track of the action at the concerned location and then inform the complainant when the issue has been resolved. Majority of the complaints are resolved within half an hour. Officials said that in most areas, drains are blocked by plastic or other waste and hence it takes only a few minutes for the water to recede.

The staff also keep a check on critical locations as live feed from 10 points is available in the control room.