State’s industrial hub knee-deep in mess

LUDHIANA: A spell of heavy rain lasting a few hours for two days starting Monday brought Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, to a grinding halt. Whether it was posh residential areas, arterial roads or slum areas in the walled city, everyone faced the wrath of rain.

While many schools had to declare a holiday as the classrooms were flooded and walls of two government schools collapsed, water of the Buddha Nullah entering houses worsened the plight of residents. The city witnessed hours-long traffic jams at several places and some incidents of road cave-ins were also reported.

The reasons behind this civic breakdown are not hard to find.

Having found place in the central government’s first list of 20 smart cities, Ludhiana does not have proper stormwater drainage system, as a result of which most parts of the city submerge in rainwater during monsoon every year. The sewer lines laid decades back are not able to cope with the pressure of a rising population and rapid industrialisation.

The sewer lines, especially those in the old city areas, are not able to bear the pressure as they are overloaded. Railway station Road, New Kundanpuri, Madhopuri, Focal Point, Haibowal, Chandigarh Road, Millerganj are among the areas that get flooded every year.

Rattan Singh, a resident of New Kundanpuri, said, “Contaminated water is being supply in our area due to choked

The MC is not in a good financial health. Efforts are being made to bring relief to residents but the stormwater project will be taken up in future. BALKAR SINGH SANDHU, Ludhiana mayor

sewer lines but the authorities are paying no heed to this.”

Such is the situation that the Punjab local bodies department last September had submitted an affidavit in the Punjab and Haryana high court that stormwater drainage will be installed in the state’s cities. But nothing has been done yet.

The Buddha Nullah overflows almost every year due to the authorities’ failure to desilt it before monsoon. Locals say the municipal corporation has not cleaned drains and sewer lines in the city, leading to waterlogging.

This year also, the civic body started the desilting process one-and-a-half months late due to financial crunch.