Ahead of monsoon, several road gullies lie choked in city

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, May 26

In view of the coming rainy season, officials of the Municipal Corporation said they have already commenced preparations to prevent waterlogging on city roads. They claimed to have cleaned 60-70 per cent of road gullies in the city so far. However, persistently clogged road gullies in several areas of the city paint a different picture of the situation.

60-70% gullies already cleaned: mc Official

An executive engineer from the O&M Branch of the MC said 60-70 per cent of road gullies in the city have already been cleaned. Besides, sewer cleaning operations are also underway in all zones of the MC. The cleaning of nullahs is also in progress, he added.

Due to the absence of a dedicated stormwater drainage system, the road gullies designed for draining rainwater have been connected with the MC's sewerage system. Consequently, whenever there is rainfall, sewers in several areas begin to overflow.

During a visit to different areas by The Tribune, a number of instances of clogged road gullies were observed, including in posh areas such as Sutlej Club road and near Rose Garden. It was noted that some of them had broken or were missing. The water drainage system on flyovers was also in dire straits at some places. Clogged drainage pipes on the Elevated Road (from Jagraon Bridge to the Buddha Nullah) are also in a need of maintenance.

Residents are urging the civic body to prioritise the regular cleaning of road gullies and de-silting of sewers and nullahs across the city to prevent waterlogging during rains.

Satinderpal Singh, a resident, emphasised the need to take proactive measures to prevent waterlogging. He said: "It is evident that road gullies are only cleaned near the onset of the rainy season or when waterlogging occurs. They should instead be cleaned regularly. Moreover, timely de-silting of sewers and all nullahs is also essential."

With rains yet to start, sewers were already seen overflowing on Panj Peer Road, Chandigarh Road, Moti Nagar and Dhandari. Pankaj Prabhakar, who is a resident of Panj Peer Road, expressed his frustration, saying: "We have to face a lot of problems due to the accumulation of sewage on the road after rainfall. We appeal to the officials and elected representatives to take immediate measures to prevent the recurrence of this problem."

An executive engineer from the O&M (operations and maintenance) branch of the MC said in addition to cleaning the road gullies, sewer cleaning operations are also underway in all zones of the MC. The cleaning of nullahs is also in progress, he added.

Superintending Engineer Ravinder Garg could not be contacted for a comment.