Another spell of rain brings back waterlogging woes for Amritsar residents

Amritsar, August 21

Another spell of rain brought back same set of woes for residents. After the early morning heavy rain, the low-lying areas of the holy city and even the main GT road witnessed deluge. It seemed that tall claims of officials of the municipal corporation (MC) to tackle monsoon-related issues went down the drain.

Waterlogging was witnessed in sever residential colonies of Putlighar, Chheharta, Batala Road, the walled city and even posh area like Ranjit Avenue. Commuters on the busy GT road got stuck in traffic jam due to waterlogging along the BRTS route. Engines of many vehicles stopped in middle of the inundated road.

Three hours of rain in the morning today laid bare the truth of MC’s failure. Despite desilting of drains, rainwater inundated many areas in the city. Stench of sewer water that overflowed from drains troubled commuters on all busy routes. Rainwater was drained through motor pumps at sewer disposal stations located in various areas of the city. At several places these motor pumps failed to work. In the Kot Khalsa and Islamabad areas, rainwater entered residents’ homes.

A few days ago, MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla held a meeting with MC officials to discuss the issues of open garbage dumping and clogged sewers across the city, especially inside the walled city areas. Despite instructions to officials, heaps of garbage aggravated the problem of waterlogging today as plastic and other waste blocked drains.

“The cleaning of sewer and rain chambers before monsoon seems like a Herculean task for the MC. With every rain, the problem is getting worse. Open disposal of garbage adds to the problem. Last year, we saw chikungunya outbreak in the city after the monsoon. Even this year, we might get another outbreak of some other disease due to waterlogging,” shared Vaishali Sharma of Bhalla Colony in Chheharta.