BJP demands all-party meet on monsoon after waterlogging in Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Delhi BJP demanded that the AAP government call an all-party meeting on monsoon preparedness and desilting of drains after some parts of the national capital faced waterlogging following Tuesday's heavy rain.

The city government should call an all-party meeting within 24 hours on the cleaning of drains and monsoon preparedness or be ready to face a protest, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said in a press conference.

No immediate reaction was available from AAP.

A sudden downpour, accompanied by wind, swept parts of Delhi, catching people off guard and causing waterlogging and traffic jams.

The public works department said it received 22 calls regarding waterlogging and around three to four complaints of trees getting uprooted till the afternoon.

BJP leaders claimed that the rain once again exposed the shortcomings of the AAP government.

Sachdeva showed videos of waterlogging in various parts of Delhi, alleging hundreds of crores were being "squandered" in the name of cleaning drains by government agencies.

"Water Minister Atishi and Mayor Shelly Oberoi were constantly claiming that Delhi was prepared for the rain but those claims proved to be hollow after a few minutes of rain," he said.

Areas such as ITO, Sangam Vihar, Burari, Deoli, Kishanganj, Chanderawal, Rajendra Nagar and Najafgarh -- that experienced heavy waterlogging due to rain on June 28 and July 3 -- once again went under water after just a few minutes of rain, he claimed.

Sachdeva alleged that of the 750 drains in the city, about 150 had been cleaned but the silt removed were not lifted. As a result, it flowed back into the drains after the rain.

BJP leader Arvinder Singh Lovely said at the press conference that the lack of preparedness for monsoon was because the meeting of the apex committee was delayed as its chairman, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was in jail.

Delhi is a city where residents suffer from water shortages in the summer, waterlogging in the monsoon and pollution in the winter, he said. PTI VIT SZM