Rains expose shoddy civic works
Old City residents complain of mosquito menace from stagnated water
Recent rains have exposed the shoddy work carried out by the GHMC and the HMWS&SB. Despite their claims that nalas and sewerage lines had been desilted, they overflowed and inundated several areas of the city, especially in the Old City, adding to the woes of people going through the Covid-19 crisis.
Yousuf Pasha of Osmangunj said the Old Topkhana road was inundated following a
15-minute rain. “Sewage water entering the nala has made matters worse. Every year, at least
50 persons of our area fall ill because of vector-borne diseases during the monsoon. Mosquito menace and stench from stagnated water is nightmarish. With Covid-19 crisis being here, residents are worried about visiting private or local hospitals for two reasons – the exorbitant fee and mandatory Covid19 checks, since all vectorborne diseases have similar symptoms,” Pasha stated.
Neelesh of Tolichowki said, “It is a waste of time asking for a permanent solution to overflowing drains. All governments have failed to resolve the issue. Leaders come to the area only to ask for votes. They fill their pockets in the name of nala de-silting. We have no other go but to request the corporation, HMWS&SB and elected representatives to resolve the issue, which has been left unattended since 20 years,” he said.
Highly placed sources said senior officials at the GHMC and HMWS&SB feel pre-monsoon nala desilting is not yielding results. They are in favour of annual de-silting instead.
The corporation, which removed 2.45 lakh cubic metres of sludge last year, claims to have removed
2.60 lakh cubic metres of sludge since October last. Incidentally, the corporation did not finalise even
12 tenders of the total 42 works until March. Sources claim that engineers are hand in glove with contractors and delayed the de-silting process.
When asked about the subject, a senior official admitted that there has been a certain delay. He disclosed that de-silting picked up pace only in May. Other officials, however, said that the silt removed this year is very less compared to 2019. They said the inundation will increase with the full onset of the monsoon.
HMWS&SB officials said they would not like comment since higher authorities have asked them not to utter a word on the issue.