Clean sewerage, waterlogged roads, minister tells MC

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 29

Despite Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi giving orders to officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC) to clean sewerage chambers and complete de-silting of drains within a week, there seems to be no bidders for the civic body’s project to press into service super sucker machines to combat waterlogging in different parts of the city.

An earlier attempt of the MC to allot tenders turned into a damp squib as there were no bidders. Now, the civic body has decided to allot tenders for the project by August 5.

Meanwhile, the MC will continue with manual de-silting and cleaning of drains under the instructions received from the office of the Local Bodies Minister.

“We have received the notification in this regard. The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) has already sanctioned two crore for de-silting and cleaning process. We hope that this time we get bidders and the project can begin without any further delay,” said Anurag Mahajan, superintending engineer, operations and maintenance wing, MC.

In the specific instructions received from the Local Bodies Minister, MC officials have been instructed to get their act together and start work on cleaning sewerage and rainwater drains. Joshi has also issued notices to departments concerned in this regard.

“During monsoons, citizens have to face inconvenience due to waterlogging and blocked drains. The process of cleaning up sewerage chambers will carried out within a week. Any employee found abstaining from his duties in this matter be reported immediately,” read the notification from the minister’s office.

Meanwhile, Amritsar has been struggling to find a solution to its waterlogged roads that have already caused mishaps and traffic chaos this monsoon.