Residents allege poor preparedness by admn as 15-minute rain floods Bhiwani

A 15-minute downpour lashing Bhiwani left most roads and streets heavily waterlogged with water entering houses in some low lying areas of the town today.

While the rain brought temporary relief from the hot weather conditions, it also exposed poor rainwater drainage infrastructure in the town, leading to widespread inconvenience for residents and commuters.

“Only 15 minutes of rain was enough to flood the entire town. Unfortunately, we witness and suffer due to the same situation every year despite tall claims by the district administration to prevent waterlogging. The administration should have made arrangements in advance to prevent flooding of roads,” said Sonu, a local resident.

Echoing similar views, Ramesh also expressed disappointment over lack of measures taken to prevent waterlogging in the town during rain. “The rain brought some respite from heat, but waterlogging created even bigger problems. The administration should have been better prepared to avoid such situation in the town,” he said.

As roads were heavily waterlogged and traffic coming to a crawl, residents were left battling the challenge of navigating through waterlogged streets and protecting their homes and shops from flooding. Several areas witnessed traffic disruptions. Shopkeepers struggled to prevent rainwater from entering premises of their shops.

Bhiwani Deputy Commissioner Mahavir Kaushik assured that the administration was keeping a close watch on the situation. “Cleaning of sewer lines and drains is already underway. We are identifying areas, which get waterlogged frequently, in order to find permanent solution for the issue,” he said, while adding that at some locations, work to clean sewerage was in progress. “It might have led to accumulation of rainwater,” he said. However, water was being drained swiftly from these areas, he said.