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Desilting of drains going at a snail's pace: Arya

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MAY 30. The Leader of the Opposition in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Subhash Arya, today alleged that desilting of drains in the Capital was progressing at snail's pace and warned that a major waterlogging problem was in the offing this monsoon.

Asserting that during the previous BJP-dominated civic body, desilting of drains was taken up on a war footing every year just before the monsoon, Mr. Arya alleged that the Congress regime was merely completing the formality this year.

Of 1,054 drains under the civic body, desilting of only one drain has been completed so far, while work is in progress on another 328 nullahs. "No desilting work is being carried out in as many as 725 drains,'' he alleged.

Sewage and waterlogging might be a major problem this monsoon. This problem might be acute in East Delhi, where desilting of just seven of the 282 drains has been done. "Silt has been taken out of only 17,856 of the 31,950 bell-mouths. Only 20,573 of the 45,056 gully gratings have been cleaned so far,'' he said, regretting that only 110 of 750 septic tanks were being cleaned this time.

Conceding that the pace of work was slow, senior MCD officials said this was due mainly to contractors' strike. As a result, the work could begin only in May instead of April. But the desilting work would be completed well in time before the monsoon, he asserted.

Mr. Arya charged that figures were being manipulated by MCD officials to show this year there was more desilting work. "More than 800 trucks of silt and garbage is dumped in Bhalswa landfill site. This is practically not possible. It seems bogus slips are being issue,'' he alleged.

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