New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) On the direction of Lieutenant Governor T.S. Sandhu, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has removed more than 10,000 MTs of accumulated silt and waste in a specialised drive at the major underground trunk outfall drain in Rohini, an official said on Tuesday.

The initiative will significantly improve storm water flow, reduce waterlogging and strengthen drainage infrastructure in Rohini and adjoining areas, the DDA official said in a statement.

The project covered a 4.095 km-long trunk drain consisting of three to five pipes in parallel having diameter of 2200 mm with a total underground pipe length of around 16.50 km with 75 inspection chambers.

“Over the years, continuous wastewater flow and heavy silt deposition severely choked the underground pipelines, substantially reducing the carrying capacity of the drain. Owing to the confined nature and large diameter of the underground pipelines, conventional desilting methods were found to be ineffective,” the statement said.

To overcome this challenge, DDA deployed high-capacity Super Sucker and Jetting Machines.

“High-pressure water jetting was used to loosen compacted silt, which was then removed through powerful vacuum suction equipment. The work was executed in a planned and phased manner with all necessary safety measures in place,” the statement added.

The initiative was aimed at restoring the carrying capacity of the drainage network, ensuring the smooth flow of storm water during the monsoon and reducing the risk of waterlogging in the area, it said.

The trunk drain carries water and discharge from Sectors-20, 21, 22 and 23 of Rohini, along with parts of Kirari and Begumpur, making it one of the major drainage corridors of the area.

The DDA has successfully completed the desilting of storm water drains in the East, South and North Zones, while the works in the Narela, Rohini and Dwarka Zones are in the final stages of completion.

To facilitate efficient implementation, Delhi was divided into six operational zones, namely East, South, North, Narela, Rohini and Dwarka, enabling focused planning, close supervision and timely execution of the works.

The scale of desilting carried out this year reflects the DDA’s enhanced capacity and improved planning.

During the previous year’s pre-monsoon drive, nearly 33,380 MT of silt was removed from storm water drains.

This year, more than 57,000 MT of silt has already been removed, representing an increase of more than 70 per cent.

–IANS

rch/khz