In yet another bid to prevent waterlogging at the infamous Minto Bridge underpass, Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) has proposed constructing a new sump and an additional drainage line connecting the underpass to DDU Marg, extending to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national headquarters.
The drain, PWD officials said, is expected to help keep the underpass and surrounding roads free of water this monsoon.
“We are trying to create an additional drainage channel to pump stormwater from the Minto Bridge pump house to the BJP headquarters on DDU Marg. An underground sump may also be added to store excess water, which will then be drained out gradually during heavy rains,” said a PWD official, requesting anonymity.
Despite years of interventions, the Minto Bridge underpass has remained one of the most waterlogging-prone locations in Delhi for several decades. Over time, the spot has gone to to become a symbol of the Capital’s broader waterlogging woes during monsoons.
To be sure, officials have made several attempts to prevent waterlogging there, but all have failed at presenting a permanent solution.
While PWD’s measures in 2021 had temporarily kept the underpass dry for two years, the area was removed from the department’s list of “waterlogging hotspots” in 2024 — only to be re-added after it was inundated multiple times that same year.
Incidents at the underpass have previously sparked public outrage. In July 2020, a 56-year-old man drowned after his mini-truck was submerged under the bridge. In 2018, two DTC buses were trapped in floodwaters at the same spot, and 10 people had to be rescued.
PWD has earmarked ₹97 lakh for the latest intervention, which it hopes to complete before the onset of monsoon. The executing agency will also be required to ensure that the existing road level is not raised during restoration. Currently, two sumps near the bridge each have a capacity of 500,000 litres, the official cited above said.
To bolster existing infrastructure, PWD laid an alternate drainage line along Minto Road three years ago to quicken water discharge, officials said. It has also automated the pump house so that pumps start functioning as soon as the water reaches a certain level.
Additionally, a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system has been deployed to enable real-time remote monitoring and control of pump operations. During the monsoon, the underpass remains under 24-hour CCTV surveillance, and a water-level alarm system with loud hooters serves as a backup to alert pump operators if automated systems fail.
Yet, despite these interventions, the underpass was submerged on multiple occasions last year.
“The issue is that during intense rainfall, water from surrounding areas and a Delhi Jal Board drain near the railway line suddenly rushes into the underpass, overwhelming the drainage system. Once that happens, it takes significant time to dewater the area,” another PWD official explained.
Officials are hopeful the proposed drain and sump will finally ease the persistent problem this year.
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