Rain spells misery in P’kula Sec 19

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 17

An hour-and-a-half rainfall in Panchkula left roads waterlogged. The worst-affected area was once again Sector 19. Some roads were under 3 ft of water. The sewerage also started overflowing.

Water entered houses after which residents sat on the border of Baltana and Sector 19 in protest. To pacify them, the police had to be called.

There was sloganeering against the Deputy Commissioner and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta. The residents were adamant and demanded that the Deputy Commissioner should appear in person before them.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation sent a fire tender, which extracted water from the area. However, the residents were still angry. MC Executive Officer Jarnail Singh reached the spot where there were arguments between him and former councillor Ravi Kant Swami.

Haryana Congress leaders Ranjita Mehta and Tarun Bhandari also reached the spot to extend support to the people.

After that, the residents lifted the sit-in. A local resident, Manish Kumar, said as the railway crossing in Sector 19 was under 3 ft of water, some two-wheeler riders fell while trying to cross the area.

MC not at fault, says Jogpal 

“Every time, the waterlogging problem surfaces in Sector 19, a blame game starts. The Panchkula MC is held responsible for the problem. However, this is a legacy issue as HUDA has not built the drain in the area properly. It is not the MC fault,” said Rajesh Jogpal, MC Commissioner. 

 He said, “The waterlogging issue was not brought to the officers’ notice even for a single day last year, and  nothing was done to solve the problem during the term of the MC, which ended on July 4.”

He said a drone survey of entire Panchkula, especially low-lying areas such as Sector 14, 15, 16 and 19, had been ordered to plan a strong drainage network.  “We used drones on Friday to survey the waterlogged areas and also after de-watering these to see if water was still there. The width of the drain on the Punjab boundary needs to be expanded to resolve the waterlogging issue,” he said.