It seems that it isn?t just Mumbai which is brought to a standstill by heavy rain. Delhi has suffered similarly this monsoon, most recently on Friday last week. It?s all to easy to blame nature?s fury but surely Delhi?s infrastructure should be better equipped to handle extreme weather. Must drains always clog up and overflow on the roads, causing multiple vehicle breakdowns, and bumper-to-bumper traffic even on the widest of roads? Surely traffic signals should continue to work even in a heavy downpour, and if they don?t, then the administration must ensure that suitably equipped police are out to ease the chaos.
This time around, however, there were more problems than the usual traffic jams. Most bizarrely, a part of the roof of a recently built and apparently sophisticated terminal building (worth Rs 500 crore) at the IGI airport collapsed. The officials stated that heavy rains and the wind?s velocity blew off the sheets of the roof, but is that an acceptable explanation for a city set to host the Commonwealth Games next year?after all this was no typhoon. Many roads also caved in?at Raisina Hill, hardly a kilometre away from the Parliament, a part of the road caved in. There were reports of roads and flyovers being damaged in other parts of the city also.
These incidents occur all too regularly whenever a heavy downpour hits the capital, as it has thrice in the past month and each time the authorities shirk away from managing the situation better. This Friday was the third instance when it rained substantially but the reponse from city authorities was as poor as it was the first time. Every time, the blame game begins for the chaos that prevails. The government blames the MCD (responsible for the upkeep of majority of the city), which in turn blames everyone else, including the fury of nature. The PWD and Delhi Police too share their portion of the blame for their failure in managing roads and traffic respectively. The authorities must stop passing the buck and work in coordination to make Delhi a world class city that is ready to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
?jaya.jumrani@expressindia.com
