Delhi Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj announced on Friday that the government has set up a 24X7 flood control room that will monitor real time data from the Hathni Kund Barrage from where Yamuna water is released in Delhi.
The announcement by the senior AAP leaders was made following a meeting of the apex committee on supervising, recommending and coordinating flood control measures in the National Capital Territory. Officers from the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, PWD, Urban Development, MCD, Delhi Jal Board, DDA, NDMC, Army, Navy, NDRF, Delhi Police, Home Guard, Health Department and other departments attended this meeting.
In the meeting, the ministers reviewed the preparations of the departments to deal with the flood. All the departments were instructed to take lessons from the flood situation in Delhi due to the rising water level of Yamuna last year and prepare themselves completely.
The ministers said the flood control room will be manned by officials from different agencies including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
"Last year, the Yamuna reached its highest levels in 70 years. The Delhi government is gearing up to tackle any possibility of floods. The control room is in touch with officials at Hathini Kund barrage from where Yamuna river discharge is received. After release of one lakh cusecs of water, relief and rescue machinery starts working," Atishi said. Bharadwaj claimed that the control room will monitor data in real time and will be entirely computerised.
Atishi added that NDRF officials have also attended the meeting because it plays an important role along with the Revenue Department for relief and rescue operations during floods. “The details of all the machinery used in relief and rescue operations by all the concerned departments like motor boats, life jackets etc. were also placed before the Apex Committee. We hope that this time there is no flood situation in Delhi. But even if there is a flood, the Delhi government is fully prepared to deal with it,†she added.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said, “Hearing Atishi's claims about the flood, the people of Delhi are stunned to see how a government that made false promises of water supply in summer and cleaning drains during monsoon can serve another bowl of lies to the public for the third time.â€
He said that the flood control claims of Delhi's Irrigation and Flood Control Department Minister Atishi seems ‘laughable and hollow’. He also held Atishi responsible for making grand promises of uninterrupted water supply throughout the summer. “However, by June, her claims collapsed when Delhi faced a severe water crisis,†he said.
He also mentioned the rains on June 28 which created flood like situation in the country. “Following this, Atishi made grand claims about cleaning the drains and ensuring the sewage and water drainage system during the monsoon, which failed miserably with the first rain on June 28th,†Sachdeva stated.
