Downpour washes away civic body’s claims of cleaning drains in Panipat

The recent downpour in Panipat has washed away the tall claims of drain cleaning made by the civic body. Waterlogging on both sides of NH-44 near Khadi Ashram caused a severe traffic jam as long queues of vehicles piled up in the morning hours.

Showers of rain began on Tuesday evening, and continued on till Thursday.

The Bapoli area recorded the highest downpour in the district this season.

As per records, 33-mm rain was recorded in Panipat, 26-mm in Samalkha, 13-mm in Israna, 81-mm in Bapoli, and 23-mm in Madlauda till Thursday morning.

Residential and commercial areas — including both sides of the NH-44 near the Khadi Ashram chowk and the Malik petrol pump, Sanoli road, SD College market road, Chaura Bazar, gurdwara market, Tehsil camp area, roads in sectors 11-12 — were inundated, causing great inconvenience to area residents.

Blocked sewerages in the markets of the district added to the woes. The MC had been claiming to have cleaned all drains — big or small — of the city before the start of the monsoon.

However, with the recent spell, the claims seem to have gone down the drain.

Sector 12 resident Virender Soni highlighted the plight of residents of the sector, stating that there was no drainage facility in sectors 11 and 12 — the oldest sectors of the city developed by the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP).

The onus of cleaning stormwater drains was on the MC, but it seemed least bothered about it, he added, stating that locals, too, were responsible for the issue as many had covered drains by making ramps.

MC Commissioner Pankaj Yadav asked the officials concerned to identify blockage points on ground. The officials were instructed to drain out water from all roads on priority.

Following the directions, a team of officials, including Executive Engineers, JEs and sanitation officials, has been working to drain out water. MC XEN Gopal Kalawat said water was drained out of NH-44 by breaking slabs and removing drain blockage with earthmoving machines. The team also broke ramps and drained out water at the Sanoli road, he added.