Slushy roads, open manholes trouble people

PATNA: A few days of rain in the first phase of monsoon was sufficient to throw life out of gear in several parts of the city.

Though the rainwater was drained out from the western parts of Patna on Saturday, there are still few areas in Bahadurpur and Bazaar Samiti where the people are struggling with the 1-2 feet water in residential areas.

Kamlesh Prasad Singh, an entrepreneur and resident of Bahadurpur Colony, said, “Rainwater seeped out from potholes and even entered some homes. We sought the help of the civic body by dialling its toll-free number. However, none came to help us,” he said.

Mahima Aggarwal, a resident of Mussallahpur, Bazar Samiti, said the waste dumped at the corner of the road has blocked the chamber. “The sanitation workers pumped out water from post office area and released the same in our area. People have left the manholes open, which is quite dangerous,” she said.

People in low-lying areas are struggling with slushy roads, potholes and puddles. Abhishek Anand, a resident of D N Das Road, said all the adjoining roads, including Arya Kumar Road and Abhilash, were dug up prior to the monsoon. “After rain, it becomes difficult to locate the dug-up areas in the absence of barricading. People are facing difficulties in going to Langar Toli and Bari Path,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is gearing up to tackle

waterlogging

as the meteorological department has predicted more rain over the next few days.

PMC commissioner Himanshu Sharma said the reason behind the delay in pumping out water was that a motor pump at Kadamkuan sump house got out of order. “It was repaired soon after which the accumulated water was pumped out from Congress Maidan and Kadamkuan areas,” he added.

“A motor pump set of 375hp was also out of order. As a result, the overall capacity at Saidpur sump house reduced. Secondly, the R K Avenue sump house also discharged its water at Saidpur leading to slow outfall of water in nullah. The BUIDCO has repaired the pump set of Saidpur sump house. It will now work at its full capacity of 2,100hp,” Sharma said.

As far as R K Avenue sump house is concerned, the PMC has started constructing a separate drainage outlet to discharge the rainwater from Nala Road and adjoining areas. The PMC has also decided to monitor the functioning of sump houses from the control room during the monsoon season.

The PMC commissioner said accumulated rainwater could have been drained out within 7 hours on Friday had all the sump houses functioned properly. Sharma said the newly acquired motor pumps have been installed in several low-lying areas.

The civic body proposed to the urban development and housing department to complete all the projects related to laying of pipelines, cables and road construction by June 30.

UDHD minister Suresh Kumar Sharma said, “We have asked all the construction companies to expedite the work and cover the dug-up roads by June 30. No new project will be taken up during monsoon for the safety of residents.”

The BUIDCO officials and engineers have been asked to closely monitor the functioning of sump houses.

Patna divisional commissioner Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said all 39 sump houses are under CCTV camera surveillance. “Senior officers have been asked to visit the sump houses regularly. All the control rooms and combat cells have been working round-the-clock to tackle waterlogging,” he added.