Amritsar MC intensifies desilting work to tackle waterlogging

With the monsoon season almost upon us, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) has stepped up its preparations to tackle sewer blockages and dirty water accumulation in the city’s vulnerable zones. The MC has identified 34 low-lying areas where large-scale desilting operations are underway using high-capacity super sucker machines.

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Municipal Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh has directed the officials of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) wing, including Executive Engineers, to inspect the functioning of sewerage treatment plants (STPs) and disposal points. Simultaneously, in all assembly segments, SDOs and Junior Engineers (JEs) are supervising desilting work, supported by additional machinery.

Approximately 70 per cent of the desilting work in the identified areas has been completed, claimed the MC Commissioner. Despite this, the MC remains concerned about potential waterlogging during heavy rain, especially in the Central, North, and West Assembly constituencies. To address this, nodal officers have been appointed to monitor 23 major roads. For the first time, roadside drain desilting in chowks and gullies has been initiated, and daily progress reports are being submitted.

The list of 34 vulnerable spots includes Putlighar, Beri Gate, auto workshops near Hathi Gate, the bus stand, the railway station, from Government Girls College to Sher Shah Suri Road near the Sadar police station, the Circuit House Road, Town Hall, the Lawrence Road, Batala Road, Court Road to Swani Motors, areas near Gandhi Ground, Madan Mohan Malviya Road, McLeod Road, Maqbool Road, Mahana Singh Road, Chheh Mandi Chowk, Bali Singh Bhavan Road, Chamrang Road, GT Road opposite Alpha One, Sultanwind Road, Miglani Road, Lakkar Mandi interior, Dholi Mohalla, Chowk Baba Bohriwala, Rambagh Chowk to GT Road (Bankside Bus Stand and Tyre Market near Mahansingh Gate), Rambagh Chowk to Hall Gate, Majitha Road, Nari Niketan to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Race Course Road to Adlakha Hospital, Cooper Road, Crystal Chowk, Lakshmansar to Viveksar, Chowk Karori to Viveksar, Shiwala Bhaiyan Road to Railway Phatak, Railway Phatak to Hussainpura Chowk, Kitchlu Chowk to Rattan Singh Chowk, Circular Road, and Kitchlu Chowk to Army Canteen Chowk.

The machinery deployed includes four super sucker machines, 10 robotic bucket machines, four vehicle-mounted mini jetting machines, and 10 jetting-cum-suction machines. All equipment is operating under the supervision of designated SDOs and JEs to ensure efficient execution.