People slam admn, officials pass buck

Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, July 18

Days after rain-fed rivulet Badi Nadi flooded low-lying areas and forced people to leave their homes, residents of Gopal Colony slammed the authorities concerned for not taking any proactive measures.

Irate residents today said they were not warned on time about the possible danger from overflowing Badi Nadi. 

Malti Shukla, a resident of Gopal Colony said, “We were not informed on time about the possible threat.”

However, officials concerned termed it a natural calamity. They said rainwater entered houses due to excessive rainfall in the catchment area of the rivulet in Chandigarh and beyond.

The officials said nobody can help in case of a natural calamity. They claimed that Gopal colony got flooded due to overflowing Badi Nadi and there was no breach in the rivulet. 

On Monday morning, water from Badi Nadi had entered Gopal Colony and residents had to vacate their homes. 

Davinder Singh, Superintendent Engineer, Drainage Department, said there was nothing they could do, as excessive rainfall had led to flooding of Gopal Colony.

“There was no breach in the river and flow of water was smooth. Due to heavy rainfall in its catchment area, the rivulet overtopped at certain points. If there was any breach, we would have been at fault,” he said.

Experts said residential areas should not be allowed to come up on the banks of any rivulet.