Residents of housing societies in several of the capital’s planned colonies are bearing the brunt of the faulty drainage system of adjoining unauthorised colonies
How long will residents of well-planned colonies pay for the failure of the government agencies to provide basic civic infrastructure to unauthorised colonies in adjoining areas?
Take the stormwater drains, for instance. In the absence of proper drainage facilities, dirty water from illegal colonies find an outlet in the stormwater drains of neighbouring residential colonies. Instead of laying sewer lines, the authorities have connected the open filthy drains of illegal colonies with stormwater drains, contributing to the messy state of affairs.
A report on Delhi’s civic infrastructure, which was collectively prepared by Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has revealed that stormwater drains in the city carry almost everything from daily generated kitchen waste to untreated industrial and construction waste.
“The purpose of stormwater drains is to carry only rain water, but there are a large number of colonies that do not have a sewage system, and the sewage from these colonies discharge into stormwater drains,” the report says.
East Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave is one of the many posh colonies that are faced with the challenge of filthy stormwater drains. The 45 cooperative group housing societies in Vasundhara Enclave are surrounded by a small covered stormwater drain.
Anil Pandey, president of Vasundhara Enclave CGHS federation, said, “This stormwater drain was meant to be a route for rain water to flow into a big drain. In the course of the past five years, this drain has been connected with filthy open drains coming from Ashok Nagar and Dallupura village that carry sewage as well. This has blocked the flow of water.”
Following this issue, City Spidey had earlier reported that residents of affected housing societies had asked PWD to disconnect stormwater drains from filthy open drains that flow from adjoining illegal colonies.
VS Rawat, a resident of Delux Apartments, said, “After we raised this issue, PWD had constructed a drain along the road and connected it with a big irrigation drain. However, even now the stormwater drains of societies are connected with the filthy drains of illegal colonies. This also results in spillage of dirty water on the roads of the planned societies.”
