I spoke to L-G sir with full respect, not appropriate for him to abuse me: Saurabh Bhardwaj

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Senior AAP leader and Delhi Irrigation & Flood Control Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Friday that negligence and lack of response from key officials, backed by Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, led to flooding in the ITO and Supreme Court areas in the national capital.

"I spoke to L-G sir with full courtesy and respect, but it was not appropriate for him to abuse me," Bhardwaj said.

Earlier on Friday, Saxena visited the site when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was inspecting the repair works of a regulator, which was damaged due to the heavy water flow from the Yamuna river.

"Following the visit, the L-G acknowledged the efforts put in by teams from NDRF, Army, Irrigation and Flood Control department, and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in fixing the regulator, which is also mentioned in his press release. However, the L-G also resorted to giving unwarranted patronage and support to the officials who were disobeying their minister's orders even during a crisis situation," Bhardwaj alleged.

Bhardwaj said he complained to the L-G about the insubordination of IAS officers responsible for disaster management, divisional commissioner Ashwani Kumar, and chief secretary Naresh Kumar.

Bhardwaj also said that DM Sounika, who responded to the minister's query on a WhatsApp group claiming to be present on the spot, wasn't there.

In the WatsApp group, Delhi minister Atishi also suggested that if the NDRF is not available, Army engineers could be directed to resolve the issue.

"The attached WhatsApp screenshots clearly demonstrate the directives issued to the officers, including the chief secretary, divisional commissioner, and DMs. Despite the presence of these officials, no action was taken in response to the urgent situation," Bhardwaj said.

Bhardwaj also requested the L-G to take appropriate action against the bureaucrats responsible for this gross negligence.

The issue pertains to the Irrigation and Flood Control Regulator (No.12 in front of WHO office) on Ring Road, which had collapsed on Thursday evening following which water from the already overflowing Yamuna river started to flow back into the city through the drain, inundating the Ring Road, IP Metro Station, IP Depot, ITO, and Vikas Marg and was fast leading up to the Mathura Road and the Supreme Court complex.

"This grave problem required urgent engineering solutions, the responsibility of which lies with the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) under the Arvind Kejriwal government, and specifically the minister in charge, Saurabh Bhardwaj.

"I&FC and DJB have full-fledged engineering wings of their own having several officers from the level of chief engineer up to junior engineers. However, they could not carry out the necessary work despite a lapse of more than 12 hours," sources in the L-G office had claimed.

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