Desilting dash across master drains as waterlogging remains a serious worry

Gurgaon: With waterlogging at two key locations in the city — Kanhai Chowk and Sohna Road — a concern before monsoon sets in, the GMDA will start work on desilting the master drain in the area.
Desilting work includes removing hardened and loose silt from drains or pipes in order to ensure it can operate at full capacity, thus allowing rainwater to drain out and preventing surrounding areas from becoming inundated. To remove hardened debris and silt, civic agencies use advanced equipment such as high-power super sucker machines with a capacity of 180-400 horsepower.
GMDA officials said they have recently awarded a tender for the work to a contractor and it will commence soon.
“A tender for desilting the master drain from Kanhai traffic signal to Sohna Road, along sectors 45, 46, and 47, has recently been awarded and work will commence shortly,” the official said.
The stretch along which the drain is located is a busy one with several residential neighbourhoods, prominent hospitals and commercial spaces, which results in a high volume of vehicular and pedestrian movement.
Officials said tenders are also under process for desilting another 10km of master drains along various roads in the city, such as the roads dividing sectors 45 and 52, 46 and 51, 51 and 57, 52 and 57, and 50 and 51. The city’s poor drainage network has for years left it saddled with a chronic waterlogging problem during monsoons.
Speaking about the drainage and sewage network in the city, GMDA chief executive officer (CEO) Sudhir Rajpal said the focus on cleaning these is not new, and the work has been at the top of the authority’s agenda for the past four years.
“In the past four years, GMDA has strived to make major headways in this direction with the solitary aim to improve the existing civic infrastructure and give the city a robust and effective drainage and sewage network,” said the CEO.
“Plans have been put into place and work has been undertaken in phases to refurbish identified drains and sewer lines and clear them of any obstructions,” he added.
According to GMDA officials, a total of 35km of master drains in the city have been desilted since 2019, with work in progress on an additional 9.4km. Similarly, approximately 69km of surface drains have been desilted in the past four years. In addition, a total of 35km of the master sewer line network under GMDA’s jurisdiction has been desilted during this period, with work underway on another 12km. In order to strengthen the sewage network, officials said they are also implementing cured-in-place pipe technology, which involves inserting a corrosion-resistant pipe lining inside the existing pipe to prevent further damage.
So far, CIPP lining has been completed on 6km of master sewer lines, while work on another 7.6km is under way or has been recently assigned to contractors.
“Some of the sewer lines in the city are almost 40 years old. Due to traffic movement and non-availability of land, we are desilting such sewer lines first and then strengthening them,” said Rajesh Bansal, GMDA chief engineer (infrastructure-2 division).