Paver blocks trigger flash flood: Study

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 22  

Laying of paver blocks on the roadside and construction of new roads and buildings are the major reasons for flash floods in the city during downpour. This is the finding of an official of the UT administration engineering wing, Dr Arman Singh, in his research paper “Hydrological model for urban infrastructure projects”, for which he received a PhD degree at the 46th annual convocation of the PEC University of Technology today. 

During his three-year research in the Sarangpur area, he has found that the main reason for flash floods is changing surface area by carrying out concrete constructions which impedes the flow of rainwater. New concrete constructions in the city are resulting in an increase in the flash-flood problem in the city. 

Referring to the laying of paver blocks on the roadside, he said it was one of the reasons why flash floods happened on the main roads in a short span of time during downpour.  

Dr Singh is going to submit his study to the higher authorities. His research could help solve the flash-flood problem in the future.

He said flash flood had become a serious problem, especially near roundabouts in the city, in the past 10 years. The main reason for it is installation of paver blocks on the roadside.

Dr Singh said it was a big problem not only in Chandigarh but also in the newly developed Mullapur area on the periphery.