Old Delhi Road-Palam Vihar drain won’t be widened by this monsoon

Gurgaon: Residents and commuters may have to battle waterlogging In the area between Old Delhi Road and Palam Vihar for yet another monsoon season, with civic officials saying they are likely to finish renovation of the master stormwater drain along the stretch only by the end of this year.
According to officials of the GMDA, the project was divided into two phases – repair and widen the drain between Old Delhi Road and Rezang La Chowk, and then from there on to Palam Vihar.
However, work on the first portion hit hurdles before work could begin. There are a lot of trees on the route that will need to be cut to widen the drain – something the GMDA is not keen on.
“We are facing some issues regarding phase-1. The main problem is that there are too many trees along the stretch that would have to be cut to widen the existing drain. We do not want to chop these down, so we are exploring the possibility of making a second drain parallel to it to increase the capacity. The survey for this is currently underway,” said a senior GMDA official who wished to remain anonymous.
For the second phase, the civic body has come up the estimated cost and is likely to ready the tender this week, the official cited above said. “In the meantime, we are preparing the estimate for repairing the existing drain in phase-1 I wherever it is damaged,” he added. With work on phase-2 likely to take six months after it begins, GMDA is aiming to at least repair the existing drain before monsoon rains descend on the city, normally in June.
“Our aim is to at least repair the existing drain before the monsoon so that the waterlogging is reduced. Regarding the increase in capacity, we will do what we can prior to the monsoon but the work will not be completed by then. Although this project will benefit residents to some extent this year, the entire impact of it will be felt only next season,” the official said.
The nearly 6km stretch – lined with several residential societies such as Ansal Garden Homes, commercial spaces, hospitals and markets – used to get inundated every year after heavy rains.
The project the drain was conceptualised in October last year. At the time, officials had said they expect it to be completed before the 2022 rainy season. Officials pointed out that the existing drain was built 35 years ago using brick masonry walls covered with slabs. Over time, the wall mortar joints became weak, causing the slabs to come loose.
Structurally, it didn’t help that the width of the drain decreases downstream, they said. According to the authority, another factor was “rapid urbanisation” of the area, which increased overall discharge, worsening the situation during monsoon.
“This project, when complete, will be of great help go commuters in this area but the question is: when will the work finish?,” said Nidhi Sharma, who lives in Palam Vihar.
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