71 locations identified to reduce water-logging during rains

PUNE: With bitter memories of water-logging in several parts of the city last monsoon, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to play it safe this year by identifying 71 locations where box-type culverts will be laid so that gushing rainwater can be channelised.
Additional city engineer (roads) Vivek Kharwadkar said that Rs 50 crore have been allocated in the 2011-12 budget for the works and most of the tenders have been sanctioned."Work will begin in a week's time. Pipe culverts do not have adequate water carrying capacity. They are converted into RCC box culverts so that the areas that faced severe problems last year don't go through the turmoil again," Kharwadkar said.
A deputy engineer in road department said that most of these spots are in Kothrud. In June and September last year, several parts of Pune, particularly those along nullahs, were clogged with knee-deep water. Main roads too were choked which led to traffic snarls, bringing life to a stand-still in several areas, mostly in western parts of the city.
However, the reason for water-logging was not just lack of storm water drains or small size culverts, but large number of illegal constructions that have come up on nullahs over the years. At some places, the nullahs have been completely choked for constructing buildings or approach roads.
Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade said that action has been taken against several encroachers after last year's monsoon. "Laying culverts will solve many of these problems. As for illegal constructions, it's an ongoing process and repeated drives are being undertaken by our ward offices to allow the natural flow of drains. Bigger actions will be taken up in the months of April and May," he said.
A top civic official said, "Many natural water bodies have not been shown in the Development Plan of the city. How can the constructions built on nullahs be called illegal if the nullah does not exist on the DP map at all? If all issues have to be resolved, then one has to go a few years back and find out when exactly these changes were introduced. Only then can we pin the responsibility on any individual. And, the task is not as easy as it seems."