New Delhi, July 9: As Delhi continues to brace for the monsoon, questions over the quality of drain cleaning have once again surfaced after a citizen group alleged that desilting work near Green Valley Convent School in Swaroop Nagar was reduced to a “surface-level exercise” instead of a comprehensive cleaning operation.
The allegations were made in a post on X by the handle @DelhiComplaint, which shared visuals and a video from Bhatta Road, Block D, Swaroop Nagar, Bhalswa, claiming that only the garbage visible on the top of the drain had been removed while thick layers of silt and debris remained inside the drain. The post tagged Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, the Lieutenant Governor, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police and several senior public representatives, seeking immediate intervention.
According to the post, civic workers allegedly removed only the waste visible from the surface, clicked photographs, prepared completion reports and declared the cleaning work complete without carrying out full desilting.
The citizen group argued that such cosmetic cleaning does little to improve drainage during the rainy season.
It said genuine drain cleaning should include removal of accumulated silt and debris from the entire depth of the drain, clearing the complete flow path to ensure free movement of rainwater, lifting the excavated silt immediately instead of leaving it along the drain, cleaning connected outlets and cross-drainage structures, and conducting a post-cleaning inspection to verify that water can flow without obstruction.
The post further stated that merely removing floating garbage, taking photographs and claiming the work has been completed amounts to a “photo opportunity” rather than meaningful civic maintenance.
Residents quoted in the post expressed concern that unless drains are desilted thoroughly before the peak monsoon period, the locality could continue to witness waterlogging, especially near educational institutions where schoolchildren and pedestrians are directly affected.
The issue has drawn attention amid heightened public concern over drainage infrastructure in the Swaroop Nagar-Bhalswa area. Earlier this week, separate visuals from the locality showing schoolchildren navigating a waterlogged stretch after rainfall also highlighted recurring drainage problems in the area.
The social media post concludes with an appeal for result-oriented sanitation work instead of documentation-driven exercises, urging authorities to ensure that drain cleaning is carried out scientifically and completely before declaring the work finished.
No immediate response from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) or the Delhi Government was available at the time of publication. The story will be updated if an official response is issued.
