Delhi CM flags off amphibious machines to clean Najafgarh, Pankha Road drains

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday flagged off state-of-the-art amphibious excavator machines at Badusarai Bridge along the Najafgarh drain and the Pankha Road drain to strengthen the cleaning of the Capital’s drainage network.

The newly introduced long-boom and short-boom machines will accelerate desilting work and remove garbage and clear water hyacinth from major drains, thereby improving water-carrying capacity and helping reduce waterlogging during the monsoon season.

Speaking at the launch, the Chief Minister said, “Cleaning the Yamuna and freeing Delhi from waterlogging is our commitment. The government is deploying modern technology to clean drains and restore the river system connected to the Yamuna”.

Delhi Cabinet Ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh and Ashish Sood, along with senior officials of the departments concerned, were present on the occasion.

Highlighting the importance of the project, the Chief Minister said the Najafgarh drain is the largest drain in the Capital and carries nearly 75 per cent of the silt from the city’s drainage system. According to estimates, more than 10 million metric tonnes of silt had accumulated in the drain over the years.

She said earlier it was extremely difficult to remove such huge quantity of sludge, but the deployment of floating amphibious machines will now allow desilting directly from the middle of the drain, significantly speeding up the process.

Officials said one amphibious machine had already been deployed earlier, while four additional machines were flagged off on Friday. The remaining machines are expected to be handed over to the department soon, and the government also plans to procure more such machines in the future.

The Chief Minister said the government had started carrying out desilting operations throughout the year, rather than limiting them to the pre-monsoon period, with the aim of preventing waterlogging more effectively.

Minister Parvesh said: “The initiative marks an important step in improving Delhi’s drainage system. Hi-tech machines will improve drain flow capacity and help Delhi tackle waterlogging.”

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Ashish Sood said the cleaning of the Pankha Road drain was a long-pending issue and had been a key promise during the Assembly elections. The drain had not been cleaned for years, leading to waterlogging and foul smell during the monsoon.

According to the government, the amphibious excavator machines deployed by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department can operate in dry, marshy and waterlogged conditions. The short-boom machine, costing around Rs 1.27 crore, can work in narrow drains about five metres wide, while the long-boom machine, costing around Rs 3.15 crore, can operate at depths of up to nine metres and remove huge quantity of silt, debris and floating waste.

The government said the use of such modern equipment will help ensure continuous desilting of major drains across the city and strengthen efforts to prevent waterlogging during the monsoon.