Downpour floods Heritage Street in Amritsar

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 19

Tall claims made by the Municipal Corporation about desilting of drains have fallen flat after heavy rain lashed the city on Sunday morning.

Various places, including low-lying areas, walled city and outer ring road, were waterlogged.

Several sewer lines remained choked, leading to accumulation of rainwater on the BRTS track, elevated road near Mall of Amritsar, Taylor Road, Madan Mohan Malviya Road, Batala Road outside Celebration Mall, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Majitha Road, SSSS Chowk and Fatehgarh Churian Road. Roads leading to many tourist places, including Partition Museum and Heritage Street, were also waterlogged. Besides, the rainfall also brought forth the true picture hidden behind the glitter of the Rs250-crore Golden Temple Heritage Street project.

Just before the monsoon season, Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu and senior MC officials had claimed that they were prepared and equipped to tackle the problem of water-logging in the city. They had claimed that the work of desilting of drains was done. People residing in low-lying areas flayed the authorities for poor arrangements to deal with water-logging.

Ajay Khosla, a resident, said: “I am surprised after seeing water-logging even after the desilting of sewer lines. The problem of water-logging near historical sites is common and it is unfortunate that concrete steps have not been taken to resolve the issue.”

Hardev Singh, a resident of Partap Nagar, said: “It is tough for people to commute safely on city roads. The water-logging problem can be seen on every road.”

Most of the city areas are deprived of a storm-water drainage system. The city is dependent on sanitary sewer. It takes time to drain out rainwater. The authorities have covered all open drains, leading to a flood-like situation after a spell of rain.

Despite repeated attempts, Anurag Mahajan, Superintending Engineer (Operation and Maintenance), MC, could not be contacted.