On the morning of 14 August, Delhi saw heavy rainfall, causing waterlogging, leaked ceilings, broken panels, traffic around DU colleges and even a tragic death. Students faced difficulty in reaching colleges and even walking around campuses because of ankle-deep water flooding, affecting both the indoors and outdoors of college buildings.
Delhi-NCR witnessed heavy rains on Thursday, 14 August, causing waterlogging. Amidst the relentless downpour, one of the major victims of the waterlogging were DU colleges. Areas near colleges like Zakir Hussain College faced extreme waterlogging. Despite the installation of water pumps to drain the water, the area still remained jammed. The road near Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Jesus and Mary Marg of JMC, Siri Fort Road of Gargi College was completely waterlogged, blocking the entrance. Delhi College of Arts and Commerce and Deshbandhu College had a similar fate, with water flooding up to students’ ankles and leaking ceilings in classrooms.
The Science Block (APJ Abdul Kalam Block) of Deshbandhu College was flooded with ankle-deep water despite being situated at a relatively elevated area from its surroundings. Indoor areas of the college weren’t spared from the rainfall’s wrath, leading to leaked ceilings and broken panels in some classrooms.
A student from Deshbandhu College said,
It took hours of continuous sweeping to get water out. The ceiling of certain classrooms in the Porta Block has broken panels, which allow water to enter the classrooms. The first bench of the entrance P-2 (Porta Block) was bathed in water.
The situation around Deshbandhu College even turned tragic, as due to heavy rainfall, a large tree fell on a bike in Kalkaji, killing a 50-year-old man and leaving his daughter fatally injured. Delhi College of Arts and Commerce likewise suffered because of water flooding. The ground floor of its old building was entirely filled with water, including the washrooms, canteen, classes, and open areas too. The main college campus was submerged in water above the ankles, and no precautions were taken to lessen the effects at the time. Jam-packed roads made it almost impossible for students to enter their college, let alone their classrooms.
Almost all colleges which were waterlogged in or around the campuses made travelling to and from colleges very time-consuming, difficult, and dangerous. Due to waterlogging, autos were charging way higher than usual, and while on the road, water entered even inside autos. Areas like Siri Fort Road near Gargi College were flooded to an extent where vehicles weren’t able to reach near the main college gate, leaving students stranded either far from college or at metro stations, with no help and cancellation of classes on the spot due to dangerous circumstances.
Eventually, as the weather worsened, the India Meteorological Department issued a red alert in some areas, the tragic Kalkaji accident becoming one of the prompting factors. The condition of Delhi and DU colleges in particular raised questions about drainage systems and the safety of students.
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Featured Image Credits: Shazia for DU Beat
Umang