Delhi authorities brace for flood, waterlogging ahead of G20 Summit

A contingency plan has been put in place to deal with waterlogging at the G20 venue and other strategic locations to fend off against rain during the two-day event in the city next month, officials said on Thursday.

The plan involves having a battery of tractor-mounted heavy duty 50 horsepower pumps deployed to clear the excess water, mechanical road sweeping (MRS) vehicles, also mounted with heavy water jetting machines to clear mud and silt off road sides, and a 'super sucker' to clear clogged drains and sewer lines, they said.

The machines will be deployed round-the-clock in two shifts of 12 hours each and will be monitored by a sanitary inspector, a helper, and a probationer IAS and DANICS officer.

The supervision of these vehicles and personnel has been entrusted to the SDMs of the respective areas, officials said.

A tunnel leading to Ring Road at Pragati Maidan, the main Summit site, was submerged in water after heavy rain in the city last month, forcing the L-G to come up with a graded water evacuation plan.

The plan involved collecting water in small reservoirs of 1,000 litre capacity each which is then pumped into reservoirs of 2,000 litre capacity, and further into reservoirs of 50,000 litre capacity.

Finally, the collected water is pumped into the neighbouring drain for discharge into the Yamuna, officials said.

Delhi L-G V K Saxena on Wednesday visited several sites that are prone to waterlogging in order to review the preparedness, said a Raj Niwas official.

In a recent G20 preparation review meeting, the L-G had directed officials to come up with a contingency plan to deal with heavy waterlogging around the international convention centre at Pragati Maidan, the venue of the summit, as well as Rajghat, delegates' hotels, and other strategic locations, in case of a heavy downpour in the city.

During his inspection, the L-G covered the route from Pragati Maidan Gate No 5 on Bhairon Marg to Rajghat and reviewed the flood management.

"We've come a long way since the flooding in July. Checked our preparedness for preventing water logging in the Pragati Maidan tunnel towards ring road.

"Extra water is being successfully pumped out through a triple grade reservoir system of 1, 3 and 50 K liters into the main drain," the L-G wrote on X.

In another post, Saxena said that from one location to the other, uneven sidewalks, open manholes, uncovered drains, waterlogged ditches and well mouths in disrepair are common sight on the roads and they are trying to fix it immediately.

The G20 Summit will be held on September 9-10.