Desilting key to keeping drains, gullies fully operational

Enough has been said and written about the problem of accumulation of water on the city roads, but the authorities have failed to provide respite to residents. Every year, some works such as cleaning of the road gullies is carried out in the garb of monsoon preparations. The problem will persist until the Engineering Department detects the root cause of it. The under-sized and choked roadside drain pipelines need to be replaced. The level of roads should be raised slightly at all such spots. Hopefully, the MC authorities will learn from the past experiences and adopt pro-active approach to tackle this problem.

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SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Clean road gullies on time 

Timely de-silting and cleaning of road gullies should be done before the monsoon sets in. Moreover, people should not throw any rubbish, household garbage or other useless things on roads and streets as it can choke road gullies. Though there is ban on plastic bags and products, their use is rampant. The authorities should ban the production of such plastic items. Punish those who produce or manufacture plastic items.

R K Kapoor, Chandigarh 

Fix area-wise responsibility 

By adopting various ways, including daily cleaning of water inputs such as manholes during the rainy season, fixing responsibility area-wise, checking of unauthorised construction and other obstacles in routine, the problem of water accumulation on roads can be avoided. The roundabouts should also have proper drainage system.

Vinod Shetty

Strengthen city’s drainage system 

To tackle the water-logging problem, the civic body should get the capacity of the storage of the drainage system increased. Iron rods should be fixed over the drainage pipes to avoid mishaps. Steps should be taken to avoid water-logging in the low-lying areas, in the inner sectors and parking areas. A strong and sustainable drainage network should be developed.

Priya Darsh Growar, Mohali

Do not throw plastic bags on roads

Every year, the city confronts the problem of waterlogged roads during the rainy season. The problem also causes fatal accidents. We usually criticise the government machinery for its failure in redressing the problem, residents are equally responsible. Plastic bags are the biggest reason behind choking of the drainage system and we often throw them on roads.

Gobind Ahuja, Chandigarh

Do away with roundabouts 

Roundabouts cause accumulation of water in the town. One can see that after every rain spell, rainwater accumulates around the roundabouts. All roundabouts should be removed to tackle the problem.

Ashok Kumar Goel

Take action against officials concerned 

 infrastructure in the tricity. The road gullies and rainwater pipelines are not cleaned periodically. One heavy rain is enough to choke the tricity. A proper system should be put in place to clean and expand the rainwater discharge pipes in a fixed timeframe. The negligent officials should also be punished in this regard.

KC Rana, Chandigarh

Adopt rainwater harvesting 

Rainwater harvesting system is the most-effective solution to overcome this problem. Besides, the proper maintenance of drainage system must be ensured. The repair work of the drainage system has become a never-ending process. It must be completed in time before the onset of monsoon. A well-planned system for cleaning and removal of blockage from drains at regular intervals is the need of the hour. Proper survey must be done before starting the work.

Anju Behl, Chandigarh

Create a helpline for residents 

The authorities should spare some sanitary staff and use their services at the waterlogged spots during monsoon. Moreover, a helpline should also be launched on which people can complain about water accumulation. The control room staff should send the sanitary workers to clear the clogged sewer line/road gully. 

Gurjinder Singh Thuha

Residents should also be held accountable The problem of waterlogged roads can be handled by revamping the obsolete drainage pipelines with bigger diameter pipelines. Not only the officials concerned are responsible, but the public is equally accountable for the problem. None is performing his/her role effectively. It’s our collectiveresponsibility to tackle the problem. 

MPS Chadha, Mohali

Plug loopholes in the management system

The only way to tackle the situation is a well-planned and timely action of cleaning sewers, de-silting of water pipelines and installation of pumps at sensitive points before the start of monsoon. The authorities should learn lesson from the past and pay more attention to plug the loopholes.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula.

Inspect areas regularly

It is the responsibility of civic bodies of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali to take necessary steps regarding cleaning and de-silting of sewerage system before the start of the rainy season. But it has been observed every year that nobody bothers to get the work done properly. There should be frequent inspection by the officials to supervise the work of cleaning of sewage in city, especially during rainy days.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra

Mark problem spots 

In spite of the best drainage system in the country, the tricity faces the problem of water accumulation because of improper maintenance of roads. Pits appear on roads and water fills in them during monsoon, thus causing traffic jams and accidents. During the re-carpeting of roads, their level increases and as a result, the adjoining areas become low-lying. The MC should mark the problem spots to take timely actions before the onset of monsoon.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

Pay heed to low-lying areas

Display the name of official of the MC responsible for maintaining roads of a particular area. This should be done both online and offline. Fix responsibility for the proper cleaning of roads and drains. Helpline should be started for residents to report about the problem of accumulation of water. Low-lying areas should be given special attention.

Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh

Use permeable paver blocks 

The tricity needs to resort to permeable paver blocks. Rapid concretisation of open surfaces has only aggravated the problem of water accumulation. The only solution is to have higher open surface area which is porous and permeable. Besides decreasing accumulation of water, this will help in recharging the fast-depleting groundwater table in this region. A win-win situation!

Anshul Garg 

Make a list of vulnerable spots 

With every rainy season, the claims of civic bodies of having made proper arrangements are washed away. They should fill pits and potholes on roads before the arrival of monsoon. The MC should start a complaint column in newspapers for residents to submit reports on problems in their areas. The authorities should make a list of the points prone to water-accumulation. Necessary steps should the taken for the proper drainage of rainwater. 

Rashi Srivastava, Chandigarh 

Roads should have proper slopes

It is disheartening that tricity roads get inundated by even a short-duration downpour. The city was earlier known to have one of the best and efficient drainage systems. Now, most of the roads have depressions and improper slope. Puddles are formed at depressions on roads causing water to accumulate. The civic body authorities need to identify and ameliorate such spots.

Renu Rajinder Pal Singh, Chandigarh

Prepare checklist of measures

Heavy rains not only cause accumulation of water, but also other problems such as traffic chaos and sanitation issues. Year after year, rains cause havoc due to the ill-planning on the part of the authorities concerned. Why can’t we make a checklist of things to do before the rains come and act upon it. The authorities need to take stock of the sectors that are prone to accumulation of water, clean the blocked drains, check the manholes and identify the dangerous structures. There must be a drill to remove the fallen trees from roads, and repair of the snapped electric wires on priority. Additional traffic police and recovery resources need to be readied for vehicles stuck in rainwater.  Also, if we can channelise the rainwater correctly, there will be no shortage of drinking water in the city. So, let’s take preventive measures, based on a proper anti-flood scheme for the city.

Colonel R D Singh (retd), Ambala Cantt 

Employ more staff in monsoon

Accumulation of water is a recurring problem every year which restricts the movement of commuters and pedestrians. It is the job of the civic authorities to act in advance in May and June to clean the drainage system and fill the potholes. The civic authorities should employ more staff to meet this eventuality to reduce the inconvenience to the general public. Pumping out of water should be done to avoid any catastrophe.

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh.

Proper use of funds should be ensured

One to two hour rain spell is enough to expose the chinks in the preparedness of the tricity to tackle the problem of water accumulation. Besides flooding roads, water also enters buildings, thus causing residents to suffer losses. Funds are allocated every year with the assurance for the improvement of the drainage system, but it appears that funds drain off before the rainy season or are diverted to other works. Action should be taken against officials, who fail to take timely steps to put the drainage system in order.

AS Ahuja, Chandigarh

Desilt choe beds frequently 

Chandigarh is the first planned city of India with well-designed roads, infrastructure and public amenities. The geographical slopes of the city facilitates speedy drainage of storm water through N-Choe, Sukhna Choe and Patiala Ki Rao, but the unplanned urbanisation and encroachment on these choe beds has drastically reduced their carrying capacity, thus resulting in spill over which inundates city areas, especially the southern sectors. To combat this perpetual menace causing miseries to public, the administration must ensure de-silting of choe beds, clearing of weeds from choe slopes for unobstructed flow of water. Not only the surface drains, the road gullies and storm water drains should be cleaned before the onset of monsoon.

SS Arora, Mohali

QUESTION

While the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has failed to implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the number of vendors is increasing by the day in the city. One can spot them at the Sector 17 Plaza and other tourist places such as Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake. What should be done to regulate their activities? Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com